


Rules of the Game

by Winter_Genisis



Series: The Gotei Thirteen [3]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alcohol Abuse, Angst, Drug Use, Gore, HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS, Lemon, Lime, Multi, Romance, Smoking, Supernatural Elements, Yakuza nastiness, citrus abounds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-01-02 01:06:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winter_Genisis/pseuds/Winter_Genisis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I WENT INTO THIS WITHOUT A THOUGHT OUT PLOTLINE, SO I HAVE TO SAY I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS WAS GOING. I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE MUSE NOR MOTIVATION SO I WILL ABANDON THIS WORK. IT IS UNLIKELY (NOT IMPOSSIBLE) THAT I WILL EVER COME BACK TO IT, BUT I WILL NOT ORPHAN IT.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.
> 
> Well I finally got the 1st chapter out. This is the sequel to "You Don't Believe in Ghosts?" so if you haven't read that I suggest you read that oneshot before this.
> 
> In later chapters, there will most likely be a few lemons, but none in this chapter. Ugh. I hate writing lemons. They're tedious for me. XD But I try. lol Oh well, if I suck at them, you can tell me when the time comes. But it's not here yet.
> 
> I'm rambling o.o What I want to say is that this is different from the oneshot, and although there will be elements incorporated from that, it's mostly a crime/angst/romance fic. Also, there are a couple other pairings in addition to RenBya, the first to be introduced is GinRan. They're one of my favorite pairings, and I have something great planned for them.
> 
> xxxx
> 
> ***Check my profile for updates on how I'm doing with my fics :) I post on there exactly how many words I have typed, or how far I've written, and other various things of that nature. I tell you if I'm half done, and almost done, etc. So check my profile from time to time!***
> 
> Enjoy~

It was dark—darker than death. Shadows danced upon the buildings that the redhead passed by, making him more wary by the second. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Quickening his pace, he reached the thick, lemon yellow glow of a streetlamp.

He widened his stance—hardly noticeable—and called out calmly (for  _he_  was in control, not this… other being), "Oi, who's there?"

He heard soft laughter, and the rustle of clothing. "Please," Gin grinned, illumination of the lamp glow lightening his pale visage. "Please, don't get yer panties in a bunch on my account." His voice was sweet like lead acetate; soft and comfortable like a lie.

Renji immediately dropped the duffel bags he carried, and assumed a slightly more aggressive posture, with one foot forward and fists raised.

Gin raised his hands in mock surprise. "Woah, there, ya damn hot head. I'm not here to fight. I know where yer damn house is and I'm not goin' there."

Renji just couldn't take that frivolous grin seriously. "I'm not going to my house." He lied.

"Oh?" Gin elevated a thin, pale brow. "Where are ya goin', then?" He had the striking appearance of a rattlesnake who'd just injected venom into his dinner.

"What's it to ya,  _Quincy_?" Renji spat out the word as though it were the vilest blasphemy on the face of the earth.

Gin glared, all trace of humor gone. "Maybe I was tryna make some friendly conversation with a sad, lonely bastard." His reply dripped venom.

"Tch."

When Gin glanced down at his wristwatch, Renji asked, "Somewhere to be?"

"None o' yer business,  _Seireitei._ " Came the chilling rebuttal.

Renji shrugged. He remained on guard, but watched calmly as Gin hurriedly, yet gracefully, strode past him, bidding him a polite good night.

_Weird ass_.

* * *

_Damn it. I shouldn'ta hung around chattin' so long… Now I'm gonna be late…_  Gin knew that she would wait for him, but she wouldn't be happy when he got there. Their relationship was delicate enough as it stood.

Gin pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. The address on the slip of paper appeared to be the house across the street, to his right.  _Excellent._ There were two cars parked on the roadside, and he chose the one further down: a shiny, black '73 Charger. His pale, slender hand delved into his pocket once more and withdrew a set of keys. With a heavy click, the door unlocked, and Gin slid fluidly into the driver's seat. He revved the engine—once, twice—and took off, journeying with unholy rapidity into the countryside.

Yes, he was on the right track. The instructions on that little paper said as much. But he'd be late…

"Keh."  _Oh well._

An hour later, Gin entered a narrow driveway, filled with loud, crackly gravel. At the end of the driveway stood what looked like a goddess. Or, she would have looked like a goddess, had such an intense scowl not been adorning her striking features.

Gin quieted the automobile, and with one flowing motion, opened the door and stepped out of the car.

"Rangiku…" he murmured, already attempting to placate her anger.

"You asshole!" She drawled. "We get this one night to be together, and this is what you do." She crossed her arms over her ample chest, glowering prettily.

_How she's still so damn beautiful is a mystery tah me…_

Gin sighed. He'd admit it. He fucked up. "Look, Ran…"

"No! I… I can't do this anymore. I—"

"Rangiku." Gin's voice was quiet, but firm and commanding. Rangiku became quiet. "I understand if yah don't trust me, really, I do. But I met Renji tonight and I had tah avoid fightin' with him. So I talked my way outta it. Understand?"

Rangiku still glared, but it wasn't really at anything in particular. Gin understood. He understood completely. She was hurting because all of this was a secret. All of this, as far as anyone else was concerned, didn't exist. She was hurting because she had to hear rumors about the last girl that he slept with, because if he didn't occasionally get laid (that people knew about), Quincy would think he was gay and toss him out. She was hurting because every second they were together like this was a rare, very singular blessing to them. And every second, they were in danger of being found out, and possibly killed right on the spot.

And tonight, he fucked up. Not as bad as it sounds, but bad enough that it upset Rangiku. So to Gin, it was pretty damn bad.

Ignoring Rangiku's mutters of displeasure, he continued walking up the driveway towards her angelic form. Not once did he look at her, not even when he embraced her tightly in his shaking arms.

"I'm sorry," it was just loud enough for her to hear. "I'll just leave earlier next time, yeah?"

* * *

Renji walked the rest of the way home on high alert, looking for any other unwanted surprises. Honestly, he was shocked that a prestigious member of the Quincy wouldn't try to knock a high-standing Seiretei member down, when he had such a brilliant chance. But he shrugged questions such as this off, and pulled his house keys out of his back pocket with a jangle. The door unlocked with a soft click, and he stepped into his dark house. While taking off his shoes, he flicked on the light and then began to trudge up to his room. He figured that he may as well unpack now.

Renji pulled out all of the clothes contained in one duffel bag and roughly stuffed them in a hamper. He removed his hair tie and brushed his hair, reveling in the feel of the bristles against his scalp. Looking at the time, he sighed.  _Guess I'll have to shower in the morning._  Renji undressed down to his boxers and threw a Chuck Norris t-shirt on. After tossing his empty duffel bag into his closet, he proceeded to take the other one—full of leftover food—into the kitchen to empty its contents. After putting all of the food away, he went back upstairs into his room, and looked at his cell phone.

_Damn it. Looks like it's about to die._

Renji hurriedly plugged his phone into the wall next to his bed, and soon, an icon popped up indicating that it was charging. Once he was settled under the covers, he began dialing.

-" _Hello?_ "-

"Hey, Baachan."

-" _Oh, Renji! Hello, how are you, dear?"_  -

Renji smiled softly. "Fine. But, I had a favor to ask of you and Sofu **[1]** …"

-" _Of course, dear. What is it?"_  -

"Well… You remember I talked a bit to you about Byakuya?"

- _"Yes?"_ -

"Well… I think I need to tell him about Seireitei." He heard his grandmother gasp. "Look, I think it's fair—and much safer—to just let him know what he's getting into with someone like me. Plus, he needs to know more about the history of his family. He knows how to handle a sword  _damn_  well (sorry for the language, Baachan,) and he might even want to pick up where his clan left off."

Renji's grandmother was silent for a long, long time. He added, after some reflection, "I think we should also let Grimmjow's boyfriend, Ulquiorra, know about it—if Grimm wants to tell him, of course."

-" _Renji…_ "- his grandmother sighed. -" _I hope you know what you're doing. I will consult with your Ojiisan about this, but if this at all compromises the safety of Seireitei and its inner workings, then we will have to force you to remain silent about this matter."-_

"Yes, Baachan, I know."

-" _Unless I tell you otherwise, bring yourself, Byakuya, and those other friends of yours if they wish to come, to the only base that is currently in disuse tomorrow at fourteen hundred_ **[2]** _."-_  She couldn't tell him directly where to go on the phone, but her instructions were fairly easy to follow considering she told him to go to the only base that the Seireitei never actually used. He knew that one pretty well—it had often been a sanctuary for him during his later years of childhood.

"Got it, Baachan."

-" _Bye, Renji. Take care, now. Don't eat so much instant food, okay? If you don't have time to make home cooked meals, go home to your Okaasan_ **[3]** _and package up some of her food, alright?"_ -

"Yes, Baachan, I know. Bye."  **Click.** Renji had to grin at his grandmother. She could be such a scary yakuza lady sometimes, then the next second she could turn into an over-concerned grandmother.

He texted Grimmjow. He didn't know if he was still up or not, but Renji figured he'd see the text eventually.

- _hey grimm. um. how 2 go about this… well, r u up? i was gonna just tell ya but on 2nd thought this would b easier if u were up…-_

A couple of minutes later, Renji's phone vibrated.

_Little Boy Blue x_x_ **[4]** _:_ — _ey._  —

Renji rapidly texted him back. — _look, not2 get weird on ya or anything, but, how much do ya like ulquiorra?_  —

_Little Boy Blue x_x:_  — _…. alot….. y…?_ —

— _look… i was thinking… i'm gonna tell bya about the gotei 13… and i told my Sobo already, so… I also told her i'd b askin u if u wanted to let ulquiorra know about it 2… cuz ya know… their safety n shit… plus i feel like bya should have a chance 2 say whether or not he wants 2 join, cuz in the past his clan was a big part of the gotei… & idk how you feel about that w/ ulquiorra… just wanted to let ya know u guys r invited 2 our little get together._ —

It was a long time before Renji got a text back. He had almost fallen asleep.

_Little Boy Blue x_x:_ — _*sigh*… ugh. idk. i'm just… nervous. cuz of my family history._  —

Renji chewed on his bottom lip. He wasn't great at the comforting aspect of friendship, but he'd give it a go. — _i understand. but it's not like that anymore. ur 1 of us now. if u wanna come it'll b ok. my family, least, is fair & stuff… so, what do ya wanna do?_ —

_Little Boy Blue x_x:_ — _...i'll give er a go. i'll let ulqui know, I'm textin him right now._  —

— _Come to the place that no one uses at fourteen hundred tomorrow. ok?_  —

_Little Boy Blue x_x:_ — _aight_ —

Renji turned his phone off and stared up into blackness. He wondered vaguely if he had told Grimmjow the truth, about everything being okay now, about no hard feelings.  _Oh well._  Shrugging off troublesome thoughts like those, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Blinking rapidly in the pale yellow morning light, Renji sighed. His limbs were heavy with sleep, and he just wanted to snuggle under the covers and close his eyes once more. He turned his head, struggling to read the time on the digital alarm clock resting on his bedside table.

8:47.

Slowly, Renji brought his arms above his head, elongating his body in a fantastic stretch that caused him to simultaneously yawn and groan in pleasure. Sliding out of bed, he smoothly shed his clothing and dragged himself into the shower. Some of the water poured into his mouth as he gave another massive yawn. He could have cared less.

Stumbling—naked—down the stairs, he made it into the kitchen and began a batch of tea. He couldn't stand coffee. Tempted as he was to just crumple into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, he managed to pull himself back up the stairs to put some clothes on. Catching sight of himself in the full length mirror behind his door, he began to seriously consider getting those tattoos he had spoken of to Byakuya.

Images flashed through his head of the haunted compound. He shuddered. There was no way he was ever going back there again.  _So creepy… not to mention depressing as hell..._

Thoughtlessly, Renji pulled on a white undershirt and Mario boxers. He reached blindly in a drawer for a light blue pair of pants and, seeing that they were indeed one of his looser pairs of skinny jeans, threw those on. Lastly he slipped into an orange short-sleeve button up, but didn't even bother to tuck it in, let alone actually button it up. He ran a brush through his hair, and put it up in his customary pony tail. He tied a white bandana with black detailing around his head, proudly signifying to others who were privy, that he was Seireitei.

A bit more awake now, but still quite sluggish, he grabbed his phone and shuffled back downstairs, padding softly into the kitchen, where some freshly brewed red tea awaited him. He sat down at the kitchen table and closed his eyes, breathing in the pleasantly strong scent. After taking a few delicate sips of the still scalding hot drink, he turned his phone on to check the messages.

There was a voice mail from his grandmother. She had called him much earlier this morning.

—" _About today, your Ojiisan has approved. I'm sorry, but I wire tapped into your texting. It was a necessary evil, dear. But, now we know that the Jeagerjaques boy is coming, along with someone named Ulquiorra Cifer, so we know what to expect. We are still waiting for you to ask your Byakuya. How impolite of you. Are you simply expecting him to be free today? You're such an inconsiderate boy. I know your Okaasan taught you better, Renji. Now go and ask him, right now!"_  —

Renji winced.  _Oops._  He had just sort of assumed that Byakuya would be free today. He didn't even know if the guy was up yet; but knowing that busybody, he would have been up long before Renji. So, with the assumption that Byakuya was probably up, Renji sent a text message.

_—hey. u up?—_

Byakuya texted him back almost immediately.

_Kuchiki No. 1:_ — _Of course I am, you moron. It is already almost 10:00._  —

_—well… r u free today?—_

_Kuchiki No. 1:_ — _…Yes, why?_  —

Renji sipped his tea and sighed.  _How to put this so that he doesn't freak out…_

_—well, when can u come 2 my place?—_

_Kuchiki No. 1:_ — _Anytime._  —

_—ok… i need 2 talk 2 u bout somethin… it's y i wouldn't have sex with u the compound. get me?—_

_Kuchiki No. 1:_ — _So… it's important?_  —

_—yeah… and can u please make sure ur not wearin blue and white 2gether? like, the dark kinda blue. If ur just wearin 1 of those colors it's fine.—_

_Kuchiki No. 1:_  — _Umm… Alright… You're strange._ —

_—shut up :P there's a reason. but i can't tell u right now.—_

_Kuchiki No. 1:_ — _Whatever. I'm coming over now._  —

Renji's heart skipped a beat, and suddenly he became a bit nervous.

_—ok… c u.—_

Replenishing his mug full of tea, he quickly began brewing some green tea for Byakuya. It was his favorite kind. Trotting back upstairs, he pulled on some socks and brought a pair of black low-top Converses out of his closet. Back downstairs, he dropped them by the door, where he debated if he should just leave it unlocked, or if he should make Byakuya knock. He went with the latter, deeming the former too… eager. Really, he was truly acting like a nervous school girl. It was disgusting. Renji scowled, plopping on the couch and throwing his feet onto the coffee table. He flicked on the TV and decided to simply wait there—calmly—until Byakuya arrived.

About a half hour later, someone knocked on the door. Renji's heart pounded. He was beyond nervous.  _Stop being retarded. It's not like this is a date. Geez… What are you, a girl?... I wonder if I look okay… Shit! I don't think I brushed my teeth!_

Renji raced upstairs and hurriedly brushed his teeth. The person knocked on his door again.  _Damn it…_  He rinsed his mouth and flew back down the stairs, two and three at a time. He almost barreled into the door, which he whipped open with a giant grin.

"Hey!"

Byakuya scowled. "What in the world were you doing?"

Renji laughed nervously (he didn't think it  _sounded_  nervous) and pulled Byakuya inside. After shutting the door Renji wound an arm around his boyfriend's waist, pulling him in for a kiss. Renji felt any irritation the man may have felt towards him disappear as his body melted against his own. Byakuya wrapped his arms around Renji's neck, and just as the redhead was about to pull away, Byakuya deepened the kiss. Renji pressed him against the door, sliding his hands down his sides. He allowed Byakuya to explore his mouth for a short time, but the redhead soon took over, pushing Byakuya's tongue back into his own mouth. Gently yet passionately tasting his tongue, Renji's hands wandered to his boyfriend's ass. Byakuya gasped, breaking the kiss, but Renji went straight to attacking the smooth curve of his neck.

However, it hit Renji just then that they had to be somewhere in a few hours. And it happened to take a couple hours to get there.

"We should stop…" he murmured softly into Byakuya's ear.

Byakuya shuddered at the sensation of Renji's breath, but nodded.

Renji took his hand, smiling almost gently. He pulled him into the kitchen. "I made you tea. It's the green tea you like."

Byakuya blushed, and politely thanked Renji, who poured him a cup.

With both of them seated at the kitchen table, Byakuya spoke.

"So, what did you call me over to say?"

"Well…" Renji looked away, feeling uneasy. "Do you trust me?"

Byakuya immediately nodded. "Of course I do." He laid a delicate, pale hand on Renji's large tan one. Renji met Byakuya's eyes. They seemed to burn through him "Tell me. Please."

"Well… you have to come somewhere with me…"

"Where?"

"… I can't tell you…"

Byakuya glowered. "Why not?"

Renji winced.  _He's getting annoyed…_ "Because… Listen, it'll be explained when we get there, okay? I would tell you right now if I could, but I don't have the power to do something so frivolous…"

Now Byakuya looked confused, and he took his hand from Renji's. "I have to say I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know…" Renji sighed and glanced at his phone. "It's 11:43 right now, so we have about fifteen minutes before we should leave. Please just trust me."

Byakuya rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Renji hesitated to do this, but… "If it makes things better…" he tentatively began, "you can come up to my room, and I'll show you something… I have to get it out for today, anyway."

Byakuya nodded, and they both stood, Byakuya with his tea, to go upstairs.

At the threshold of his room, Renji turned to Byakuya. "You'll have to stay out here for a second."

Renji went inside, turned on the light and closed the door. He tapped the top center of his full-length mirror, then the bottom right corner, then the top left corner, then bottom center. Silently, the top of the mirror leaned out toward Renji, forcing him to move to the side. Slowly, the mirror flipped over, revealing a steel board in place of the mirror. Vertically attached to the board was a large, sheathed sword.

"You can come in." He called through the door.

The door creaked open rather slowly, and Byakuya crept inside. He seemed… not afraid, but rather uncertain—perhaps even suspicious. Renji put an arm around him.

"Come on. I'm showing you how much  _I_  trust _you_  right now."

Byakuya nodded, and entered the room fully. His gaze immediately locked onto the sword.

"What…?" Clearly, Byakuya was stunned.

Renji went over to the sword, gently removing it from the steel board. Turning to Byakuya, he held it horizontally, slowly unsheathing it.

"This," he said, almost affectionately, "is Zabimaru."

Byakuya's eyes widened, taking in Renji's prized possession. The metal gleamed dully in the florescent light, and it had an odd shape to it. Instead of being just a blade, at the top a prong stuck out from the sharp side of the blade. The sword gradually got smaller closer to the hilt, and there were three more prongs stemming from the sharp side of the blade, each one shorter than the last.

"It's older than either of our ages put together, but it's amazing. I love it." Renji whispered, almost becoming enraptured with the sword himself.

"Can I… Can I hold it? Just to feel the weight of it." Byakuya asked, his voice filled with awe.

"Sure. Be careful, though." He carefully handed the sword over to Byakuya.

"This is a lot heavier than my sword!" He was smiling, and that made Renji smile, too.

"Why are you so—I don't know—excited by my sword? You have one, and you've seen many as well…"

Byakuya shrugged, giving the sword back to Renji who sheathed it. "I don't know. I guess I just have a certain… affinity for swords."

"I know what you mean." Renji smirked, tapping the top of the steel board for it to go back into place as a mirror.

Byakuya gasped. "What is this?"

Renji shrugged, turning the light off and leaving the room with Zabimaru in hand. "Dunno." He replied mysteriously.

Damn, he felt smug.

He heard Byakuya make a noise of frustration behind him as they made their way down the stairs and Renji had to bite back laughter.

"We're gonna go now, okay?"

"Hn."

Renji grabbed his keys and his wallet off of the kitchen table, and sat down in front of the door with Byakuya to put his shoes on.

"Ready to go?" he helped the raven haired man up, pulling much harder than necessary so that Byakuya fell into Renji's chest.

"Yes, I am." A blushing Byakuya hotly replied, shoving Renji away.

The redhead just grinned. Outside, he locked the door. Slipping his hand into Byakuya's, they left for the abandoned Seireitei base.

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) Sofu:** **_the humble way of referring to your own grandfather_ **

**2) Fourteen Hundred:** **_This is the way most countries tell time, but I don't know if they actually say it with the hundred or what, cuz that sounds like military time to me cuz I'm an American :P So, dealing with yakuzas, we're gonna tell time like this. By the way, fourteen hundred means 2:00 pm._ **

**3) Okaasan:** **_the respectful way of referring to someone else's mother_ **

**4) Little Boy Blue x_x:** **_You know how some people put other (certain) people in their contacts, with retarded names. For example, one of my friends, Lindsey, is in my contacts as Pikachu 3 3 and another is in as Poptart when his name is Matthew. And there are stories behind these names... It's just something fun and stupid some people do. In this case, I'm just making fun of Grimm with his blue hair and stuff :P This is just sort of gonna be one of running gags in the fic._ **


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See disclaimer in chapter 1
> 
> I'm so sorry that this took so long to get out. I would have gotten it out sooner, but I had the flu for an entire week, then I had to make up all that missing school work (I still have a chem test to take and this was about 3 weeks ago). Then I got caught up with my IB English test, which since I'm a senior, is the BIG test. Basically my final exam after 2 years of work. I also had a couple brain farts with this chapter, but time just didn't allow for that sort of thing and it put me behind when I was already behind. :/
> 
> Anyhow. I state names in the Japanese way (last name, first name), but some names aren't like this because maybe I don't want them to be Japanese, or maybe they are mixed.
> 
> I hope I characterized everyone okay. This is, for the most part, Renji's point of view, so some of the characterization is supposed to be a bit vague. (He's a simple guy - simple, not stupid. Just simple.)
> 
> Lastly, I didn't mention this in the 1st chapter, but all mistakes are my own, as I don't use a Beta.
> 
> Enjoy!

Renji put his phone back into his pocket. It would be impossible to get a signal all the way out here.

"Okay, we're gonna be meetin' a couple of people up here pretty soon."

They had come far out into the country, into the Mie Prefecture. Byakuya glared at Renji, but the redhead just laughed. He could read his boyfriend's mind.

"I know it seems like we're in the middle of Bull Fuckin' Egypt, but you'd be surprised. Mount Ryozen isn't as empty as you'd think. But look." Renji pointed to the many other mountains in the area, covered by swaying greenery. "Isn't it beautiful?" he smiled happily.

Byakuya stopped to look. Slowly, something like a smile crept softly onto his face. "Yes…" he murmured, "It's very beautiful."

Renji smiled. Taking Byakuya's hand, he led him further up the mountain. There was a specific tree he was looking for. It was a very large Japanese cypress, and he could just see the top of it now.

"Come on!" He shouted at Byakuya. "I see it! Let's go!"

"Wait! What?"

Renji broke into a run, not bothering to see if Byakuya could keep up or not. He laughed loudly, thrusting his sheathed sword up into the air with the sheer exhilaration of running. He slowed once he turned a corner, seeing a shock of blue beneath the cypress.

"Hey!" Renji waved, wearing a slightly crazed grin.

Ulquiorra, who had been leaning back into Grimmjow's chest, jumped away like a frightened animal.

Grimmjow gave a feral grin, twirling his own sheathed sword like a baton. "Well, someone's excited 'bout somethin'."

Byakuya widened his stance slightly and raised his chin in a rather arrogant and snooty gesture. Somehow, Renji thought, those two motions didn't mix, and Renji was proved right when the raven spoke.

"What  _is_ all this?" Byakuya asked warily, eyeing Renji's bandana and another black and white bandana that was tied onto Grimmjow's belt loop—notwithstanding the swords they both carried.

Renji threw an arm around Byakuya's shoulder and glanced at Grimmjow. Renji knew he could feel his stare, but the blue-haired man was pretending not to notice while he took a cigarette from his back pocket. He popped it into his mouth, and held his hand over the lighter to shield the flame from the wind. Nonchalantly exhaling wreaths of blue grey smoke, Grimmjow glanced at Ulquiorra, and then at Renji.

He gestured vaguely, cancer stick in hand, at the general area underneath the tree. "Let's sit down for a sec." He suggested.

Comfortably seated under the cypress, no one spoke. In the silence, tension was rising. Ulquiorra shifted uncomfortably, his large, bright eyes nervously dancing around the group. Eventually, Grimmjow's blasé act broke. He sighed in frustration.

"Damn it, Renji! We can't do this…"

"Can't do what?" Renji shot back. "Can't date them? Huh? Is it fair to keep them in the dark about—"

"Man, shut the fuck up, already!" Grimmjow roared. After a moment and a few puffs on his cigarette, he said more calmly, "Let me start."

"Be my freakin' guest. But lemme say, on both mine and Grimmjow's behalf, if you don't like what yer hearing, there's nothin' keepin' ya here. We'll take ya home, no harm done."

Grimmjow sighed, quickly running a hand through his jagged hair. "Well, we're not really supposed to tell ya, so if ya do go in with us, pretend that you don't know. But, we're in a yakuza called Seireitei. It's been around since the samurai ruled feudal Japan. But back then it was called the Gotei 13."

"Why?" Ulquiorra asked, intrigued.

Grimmjow gave a short bark of laughter. "Ya just love history, don't ya, kid? Well, I'd tell ya, but then Renji here'd kill us all!"

Byakuya slowly turned to Renji with what he assumed was a look of horror. He didn't know, because Byakuya looked away almost immediately. He felt as though those eyes were accusing him of being a murderer. Renji rolled his eyes rather dramatically.  _Stupid fuckin' bastard Grimmjow… I really might kill him!_

"He's fuckin' with you…" Renji growled irritably.  _Even though he's probably serious…_

"Well anyway, what they did 'n how they did it's a secret unless yer a member. But during the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Gotei 13 was ordered to dissolve. But it never really did. It's just called Seireitei now, although it's nowhere near as powerful as it used to be. That's cuz—"

"Grimmjow." Renji growled.

"Hmm?" Grimmjow looked up from the enraptured Ulquiorra and Byakuya. He'd been quite caught up in telling his tale.

"You talk a lot, don't ya?" The redhead muttered. "We should be going. Oh, and before I forget, none of this business about partners or gay couples or whatever. It's a weakness in the eyes of the underworld. Ya get yerself shot for it… But my sobo is… she's my sobo! She's a yakuza wife, but she still spoils me… So… We can trust her to know." Renji stood, resting his cumbersome sword on his shoulder. "You guys comin', or are we bringin' ya home? 'Cause once we go in, there's no turning back."

Byakuya stood up and, for a moment, it seemed as though he was about to kiss Renji.

"You dirty bastard," he hissed. "You're telling me to choose between a life of crime or leaving you, the man I supposedly love. How fucking sick and twisted are you? I wonder... Just how much blood stains your hands?"

Renji narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Less than yers, if those monks tell the truth about people bein' reincarnated 'n shit. Lemme tell ya somethin', Kuchiki Byakuya. Every single generation of my family has worked with the status of lieutenant under a Kuchiki, who has the status of captain. That stopped at yer great-grandfather. But guess who called all the shots? Guess who did the tricky operations, like assassinations, that he didn't trust others to handle properly? That's right,  _the captain_."

Renji turned sharply on his heel and headed for the base. He could feel tthe fury inside him coming to a boiling point. Byakuya followed him closely, but the proximity made Renji even angrier than he already was.

Sensing that the other two were a small ways back, Renji muttered, "Why are you still here? You should just run on home. You obviously can't handle this kinda thing."

Byakuya sighed heavily, and at length, he said with conviction, "No. I will follow you."

Renji snorted and rolled his eyes.  _Quite a sudden change in attitude._ "Whatever. Just don't get cold feet and try to run off. You might really die if ya try that now…"

Trudging upwards, the foursome soon came across a large wooden building. It almost looked like a resort that was in disrepair. But then again, disrepair might be too nice of a word to describe the poor condition of the building. Many of the windows had been shattered, and there were even small round holes in the glass that was still intact. They looked as though they could have been from bullets. The wood was beginning to sag from not being taken care of properly. It was most likely infested with termites.

Renji placed his hand on the large, rotting door, and shoved it open. It did not make a sound. This house (or whatever it had been) was probably one of the first Western style buildings in the area. Within the building, it was very dim, with pale lemon light trickling in through the dirt covered windows; the occasional burst of white sunshine filtering in through a chip or hole. At the end of a long hallway was an arched entrance, where they crossed into a large room with a high ceiling. It was fairly dark, yet shadows were visible, moving about on the muted walls and corners. One man, however, was standing in the open, looking to greet them.

Renji and Grimmjow immediately stepped forward, leaving the other two behind them. They moved almost simultaneously, dropping onto their knees and pressing their foreheads into the damp, musty floor. They pushed their swords out in front of them, like a humble offering.

"Raise your heads."

The most eye catching thing about Renji's grandfather was his pristine white suit, coupled with shiny, white shoes. His dress shirt was a stark contrast—black as night—and laid under a tie that could have been made of liquid gold. His tanned face had been carved into with the wisdom of half a century, but this countenance had not always been able to avoid harm's way. A scar ran up and down the right side of his face, straight through one milk white eye, which had been rendered useless by the blow. The man had thick, wild, grey hair, which he had forced into submission in a pony tail. With hands shoved down into his jacket pockets, he casually strolled over to the two men before him, the heels of his polished shoes clacking imperiously with each step.

"Renji." He stated the name, as though instead of addressing someone, he was weighing it, rolling it around on his tongue like a new wine. "I see that you have made some friends outside of the family." The man nodded approvingly. "Good, this is good. It's nice to have connections with different people in different social circles." He was analyzing Byakuya and Ulquiorra, and murmured, as if talking to himself, "You chose good friends… Money will get ya places." But then, seeming to come back to the present situation, he addressed Renji again. "Ya really should come home more often, Renji. Yer mother worries, you know that. So does yer grandmother. Come back once in a while to show them yer doing well 'n eating properly."

"Sure, Ojiichan **[1]**."

"Renji!" Another male voice roared across the expanse of the room. Soon, Renji's own father came into the light. "Watch yer tongue!"

Renji just rolled his eyes. His father was in the usual: a black suit and golden tie, but the tie was loosened, the white dress shirt underneath the jacket was not tucked in, and the jacket was very much opened. A cigarette hung out of his mouth, and his muddy brown eyes were narrowed viciously.

Renji's grandfather scoffed. "You treat him like a child, Torao!"

Torao combed his fingers through his cropped, red hair. "No, Otousama **[2]** , you are simply too lenient with him. He's become a spoiled and headstrong son, and it irks me." The menacing message of his calm words hung in the air as Torao slowly made his way to his son. For a moment, he simply stood above the still kneeling young man. Renji wanted to flinch, but he didn't. Byakuya was watching him. Torao moved suddenly, seizing Renji's collar with both hands and hauling him up so that they were face to face. Renji could barely feel his toes on the floor. "You've been pushin' it lately," Torao hissed. "People aren't always gonna be around to back up yer yellow bellow. You step outta line one more time…" Torao let this sink into his son for a moment, before roughly shoving him onto his backside. "Kneel! You are before yer superior!" He spat.

Renji kneeled obediently. He would have rolled his eyes, but he didn't, fearing his father would have done something worse to him. Really, it was all just a show of power. There were people watching, people who were possibly new recruits. Torao needed to show them their place. Renji understood, really he did, but did it always have to be at  _his_  expense?  _Ah, well… Whatever._

"Let's have a little light." Renji's grandfather called. The electrical wires protested the energy running through them with a loud groan, but slowly, the lights flickered on with a dull hum.

Now everyone could be seen. There were three other people in the room, although one person remained seated in a corner, partially hidden in the remaining shadows. Renji's grandfather gestured for a very elderly man to come over. In addition to looking quite old, he was very pale, and his skin had the qualities of a crinkled piece of foil. Though thin, he did not give off the impression of being frail, as he made his way over with a dark, slick walking stick in one hand and an elegant, long-stemmed pipe resting in the other. His long, snow white hair hung in a low pony tail, and his wild, ice-blue eyes gave the impression that, at a glance, he was ripping your darkest secrets and lowest sins from the depths of your soul. He slowly shuffled over, yet he stood straight and stiff-backed in a sky blue suit. Underneath he had a crisp white shirt and a black tie. Just as soon as he was next to Renji's grandfather, he spat on the ground, no doubt shocking the ever so proper Byakuya, and probably Ulquiorra, too.

"It's gettin' harder to get around, these days," He grumbled.

Renji's grandfather patted the elderly man on the back. "Be grateful that yer still up and around at all at your age! Now," He turned an intimidating gaze upon the two men accompanying Renji and Grimmjow. "I'm afraid I didn't catch yer names…"

Byakuya stepped forward and dipped into a low, graceful bow. "Kuchiki Byakuya, at your service, sir."

The man nodded. "Hmm. Byakuya, eh?"

Ulquiorra did the same, coming forward and bowing low. "Ulquiorra Cifer, sir."

"Hey!" the elderly man shouted. "I remember when—"

"Now, now. That can wait. I'm afraid we have been rude, and have not introduced ourselves yet." Renji's grandfather was now completely ignoring the other two boys at his feet. "I am Abarai Ryuuma, and this is—"

"Kazemaru Jaegerjaques, that brat's great-grandfather!" The old man butt in, indicating with a jerk of his head the bluenette at his feet. "I'm the unwilling counterpart of this here scoundrel Ryuuma. His oyaji **[3]**  was my greatest enemy, and annexed our family business fer money 'n power!"

"Ojiichan, quit it with the sob story. No one cares anymore." Grimmjow muttered.

"Nobody cares! Why, when I was yer age, I—"

"Well!" Ryuuma interrupted with a booming voice. "Let's get down to business, shall we? Renji, Grimmjow, why don't ya go into the kitchen and help the women prepare lunch?"

"There's food in this old dump?" Renji raised a suspicious eye brow.

"Just move yer ass Renji." Ryuuma growled.

Torao was shooting daggers at the kneeling red head, so Renji figured he really should leave or risk some sort of bodily harm. He took one last look at Byakuya. The raven's eyes did not even flicker in his direction.

_He's probably still pissed at me…_

Feeling his nerves coil tighter in his stomach, Renji turned and slowly followed Grimmjow through a door that had been nearly hidden from view.

* * *

Aside from the two elderly men in the room, there were only two other people. One disinterestedly leaned against the wall, arms crossed with a cigarette hanging between his fingers. Byakuya assumed that he was Grimmjow's father. They didn't look alike, but their body had the same lean, dangerous look. It was as though they were utterly relaxed and indifferent, but at the same time they were secretly being quite attentive— almost like they were poised to strike. His sharp, cruel facial features also resembled Grimmjow's. But with his shoulder length chestnut hair and messy fringe shoved out of his hazel green eyes, a stranger would never see the resemblance. His outfit echoed Kazemaru's, but it was much more casual. He wore a pale blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled, and a white tie. This was coupled with black dress pants and meticulously shined dress shoes. Byakuya wondered with an increasingly intense curiosity whether these outfits had any meaning.

"Takeshi, my boy, why don't you come here!" Kazemaru called to the man. "We'll soon be goin' in fer lunch. We just needa take care of some things first."

Muttering audible curses, the man—Takeshi, as he was called—killed his cancer stick before casually making for the group of four men. He walked with a laid-back, accidental swagger that gave him the appearance of a wild animal—a large cat, actually. It seemed he was almost lethargic, but one wrong move…

The other man's identity remained a mystery, as he sat quiet and still in that dim corner of the room. But Ryuuma had turned to look at him. The man shifted just enough that it was noticeable—probably out of discomfort.

"Why don't you also come into the light, my friend?" It certainly didn't sound as though they were friends at all.

The person slowly rose and stepped out of the shadows. He had cropped black hair, making his white, unblemished skin seem even paler. Within his deep, black eyes was arrogance and slight irritation. Adorning his body was a crisp white dress shirt and a black tie, paired with black dress pants and (quite obviously) professionally shined shoes. He huffed, not quite scowling but almost. He ran a slim, manicured hand through his hair and crossed his arms, a thin eyebrow arching expectantly.

Byakuya couldn't prevent the surprised gasp that passed his lips. "Otousan?! **[4]** "

His father shot him an icy glare. "Hold your tongue." He murmured.

"This," said Ryuuma, gesturing toward Byakuya's father, "is Kuchiki Sojun."

Sojun nodded at the two Jaegerjaques men in place of bowing. Nodding was as respectful and humble as this man would get. Needless to say, he completely ignored his son and Ulquiorra.

"Sojun's father, Kuchiki Ginrei, wished to keep himself and his descendants out of Seireitei. This was Ginrei's father's dying wish, was it not?"

"However," Sojun interrupted, "just in case history ever came back to haunt us, we continued practicing swordsmanship, handling firearms and learning hand-to-hand combat. It's really no surprise that a man with the name of Abarai would be the one to drag my son back into this."

Ryuuma chuckled; though it was evident he was simply putting on airs. "Well, anyway, since we have not heard from—er—what was the name?"

"Ulquiorra, sir."

"Yes, right. Since we haven't gotten much outta you, yet, answer this: can you fight?"

Ulquiorra tilted his head a bit, and his bright green eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Doesn't matter!" An impatient Kazemaru bit out, slamming his cane onto the floor. "Just answer the question!"

Ulquiorra rested one hand on his hip and closed his eyes. Byakuya knew he was struggling not to let his irritation show. Thank the gods he had so much patience. "Yes," he finally replied, his tone bordering on the edge of arrogance. "I can fight."

"Alright, but what can ya do, hmm?" Kazemaru growled, taking the little interrogation upon himself. "What good're ya in a fight?"

Ulquiorra shrugged, putting on a laid back appearance. "I don't know what good I'd be. I can do a lot of things… I suppose you could call me… a jack of all trades when it comes to fighting." Realizing by the look Kazemaru gave him that Ulquiorra couldn't answer his question like this, he continued with a sigh, and probably, Byakuya surmised, felt rather put upon by having to answer in full detail. "I excel in hand-to-hand combat. I can utilize any firearm you give me, although my real skill lies in sniping. And I am very good with a sword. That is all."

Ryuuma nodded, but Kazemaru snorted.

"We'll see how those skills play into a real fight…"

Byakuya rolled his eyes. _No idiot could lie about his skills to a yakuza boss unless he wanted to die…_

"What about you, Kuchiki boy?" Kazemaru wheedled.

The raven haired man sighed. "I am essentially the same as Ulquiorra, except that when it comes to firearms I'm better with handguns and rifles. Also, I can double wield when necessary."

Ryuuma nodded again. "Well, this is all I wanted to know. Let's get goin' to lunch. After yer food settles, we'll see what you've got, hmm?"

With this, they were ushered into the door that Renji and Grimmjow had disappeared into. And just as well, too; Byakuya's stomach was churning with hunger.

* * *

Renji stared at his lunch with an expression akin to contempt. He felt uneasy, and it unsettled his stomach. How good of a fighter was Byakuya? How confident should someone like Renji—who'd been fighting for his life since he was born—be in someone who'd most likely lived a pampered life of luxury? What if Byakuya wasn't good enough?  _Damn it,_  he thought, his anxiety rising,  _I should have assessed his skills before we came here…_

The door at the end of the room creaked open. Renji eagerly looked up from the bowl of ramen in front of him to see Byakuya glide gracefully inside, with Ulquiorra at his heels. Others walked in after him, but Byakuya was all Renji saw. Those dark eyes did not even deign to glance in his direction. Renji sighed, carefully picking out a spiral fishcake from the sea of noodles. He was already sitting across from Grimmjow. Byakuya slid into a seat on Grimmjow's left, and Ulquiorra sat on his right. At Renji's sigh of frustration, a blue eyebrow was raised suspiciously.

"So, uh." Renji cleared his throat awkwardly, sipping some water for moral support. "This is my mother, and uh, Kaasan **[5]** , this is Byakuya."

A slim, delicate looking woman with golden brown hair fixed in a messy bun stepped up to Byakuya. She handed him a bowl of ramen and some water. She wore a sleeveless black dress that came down about 3 inches below her bottom, and that seemed to cling to her like paint. Renji couldn't understand how his mother could work in that sort of thing, let alone those horrifying stiletto boots. Her décolleté had a snake that wrapped around to the front from the back, and her shapely upper arms were also fully tattooed.

"Hello," she smiled sweetly at Byakuya. "I am Abarai Yuka. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Hello, ma'am." He murmured, along with a quiet thank you.

"Neesan **[6]** ," Grimmjow interjected. "This is Ulquiorra Cifer."

"I am also pleased to meet you." Yuka smiled genially at him as well.

Ulquiorra nodded, muttering something that sounded like hello, and Yuka placed a bowl of ramen in front of him as well.

After his mother left, Renji scooted down the table a bit so that he was in front of Byakuya.

"Hey." He muttered, glancing up at the other man like a chastised puppy. "Are you mad at me?"

Byakuya didn't respond.

"Hey. Seriously."

No response.

Renji growled in frustration. "Stop being such a little bastard!" he hissed. "Ya didn't have to come with us! You had every opportunity to leave once you knew what was goin' on! No one was forcing ya—"

He was silenced by the venom in his boyfriend's eyes, which had darted up very suddenly to regard the redhead. It was such a fearfully cold gaze, Renji could swear the temperature of the room was dropping.

"I realize." Byakuya finally replied tonelessly. He took another mouthful of ramen before dabbing elegantly at his lips with a napkin. "We will discuss this later."

"No!" Renji almost shouted. The heat rose to his face as he felt everyone's eyes suddenly on him. "I mean, is this really what you want?"

Byakuya shrugged. "I suppose it is, and even if it isn't, it is too late to be uncertain now."

Renji nodded meekly and shut his mouth. If Byakuya changed his mind now, he would die. Maybe not right now, but it was Saturday. He wouldn't make it to Tuesday, of that much Renji was certain.

"Wonderful ramen, girls! Oh, 'n this tea is exquisite!" Ryuuma boomed. "But ya know, us men woulda preferred sake…"

"No sake for you!" An old woman spat. "You know ya have to watch yer alcohol intake."

Ryuuma let out a defeated sigh. "Yes, dear… Ah!" he exclaimed, as though he were just realizing something. "Boys, this is my woman."

"Hi, there, kids. My name's Abarai Katsumi. Make yerselves at home." She smiled warmly, like any normal grandmother would when meeting her grandson's friends, before returning her glare back to Ryuuma.

"Thank you, ma'am." Byakuya replied.

"So." Ryuuma suddenly prompted at Byakuya and Ulquiorra. "Do either of you know a man by the name of Ichimaru Gin?"

The two men in question exchanged glances across Grimmjow.

"No, sir, I'm sorry, but I don't think we do. I can't even say that I've heard the name." Byakuya returned, speaking for the both of them.

"Torao, hand them the picture."

"Yes, sir."

Torao stood and walked over behind Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. He carelessly flung a small, wallet sized photo onto the table so both men on either side of the bluenette could see it.

"This man," said Ryuuma in a graver tone, "is, as you could now probably deduce, Ichimaru Gin."

Byakuya leaned over, peering closely at the picture with a look of concentration. Ulquiorra stared at it apathetically. It was a pale man with cropped, white hair and cruel looking eyes. Byakuya blinked. Renji could see his mind working.

"Actually…" He began. "I think he used to go to my high school…" He shook his head. "I haven't seen him for maybe… seven odd years, though. Although, I'm not sure…"

Ulquiorra shook his head. "I've never seen him before. But I didn't go to the same high school as Byakuya."

Ryuuma nodded. "That is just as well. Thank you boys!"

Renji caught Ulquiorra shooting a questioning look at Byakuya, who simply shrugged and went back to eating. Seeing that everyone else had gone back to their lunches, Renji leaned forward towards Grimmjow. But what he had to say was for Ulquiorra and Byakuya.

"It's normal that Ojiichan would ask you guys about that snake." Renji whispered. "He was born into our family, but he betrayed us when he was twelve. Granted, he wasn't old enough to actually be a full-fledged member of Seireitei. But in addition to confessing to his actual crimes, he confessed to thought-out treason. He escaped. No one knows how. You could basically say he has a price on his head. Except, it's tough cuz now he's one of the top members of Quincy." He sighed. "That's all I can say fer now, but that's why that old geezer was askin'."

Byakuya bit his lip thoughtfully. Renji wondered briefly what was on his mind, but the ever silent Ulquiorra interrupted his thoughts.

"Were you ever close?" he asked softly.

"Hell no!" Renji's eyes widened with disgust. "Not with that creep!"

Grimmjow laughed. "Exactly! That guy…" his expression almost managed to take on a serious quality for a moment. "He has no soul."

Byakuya arched an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well," Grimmjow exchanged a somber look with Renji. "His smile…" He began, with visible difficulty. "He smiles all the time. But always… His eyes are always empty. Except when he's torturing someone…"

Takeshi very suddenly sat down next to Renji.

"What do you want?" Grimmjow muttered.

Takeshi shrugged, clearly not bothered by his son's disrespect. "Get ready soon."

"Fer what?"

"Fer a fight." Apparently thinking he had said enough, Takeshi casually took his leave of the young men to finish his lunch.

* * *

"Sojun." The commanding quality of Ryuuma's speech turned everyone's heads.

"Hm?"

Renji was honestly amazed at how this man was able to keep his arrogant composure under Ryuuma's demeaning and almost hostile gaze.

"What sword does your son practice with?"

The regal Kuchiki shrugged and replied airily, "Whichever he fancies at the moment."

"Bah!" Kazemaru spat. "Where is the consistency in that? Where is the tradition? Where is the love for the sword?"

"Now, now, Kazemaru…" Ryuuma apparently tried to sound placating. "By any chance…" he continued, looking at Sojun, "Do you, by any chance, know the location of the sword called Senbonzakura?"

"Ex-Excuse me?" Sojun spluttered, losing all of his previous poise. "That thing died with our ancestor, Kuchiki Byakuya! I'm sure you, as an Abarai, know this…"

"Ah, but I, as an Abarai, also know that  _my_  ancestor, Abarai Renji, would never have left his beloved captain's faithful sword to rust and rot away on the bloody battlefield."

"I'll find it." Byakuya blurted, surprising everyone. Even he looked somewhat dumbfounded at his own outburst. A pregnant silence filled the room as everyone gaped dubiously at the quickly reddening man.

Finally, Ryuuma broke the silence. "Come again, boy?"

Renji cringed inwardly.  _This guy just suddenly says something like this… He's not thinking at all! I bet the pressure of this situation is getting to him… This idiot… Shit… He's fumbling… He's fumbling!_

"I-I'll-I'll find it." He said again.  _Although he probably only said it again for the sake of being consistent… He's too damn prideful to take important words like those back on a whim…_ "I-This is… I wouldn't normally say something so rash, but… I just… I have a feeling. This sword… I'll find it. I just know that I will. It's like… I feel like it's inevitable." He flushed a bit, but didn't break Ryuuma's gaze. Renji was secretly very proud of him. "I realize just how incredibly foolish this sounds, but—"

"No." Kazemaru injected firmly. "No, it is perfectly clear—to me, at least—what you are trying to say." With a glare to Sojun, he added, "Those of us with a true love for the sword understand your meaning perfectly."

Byakuya flushed a pale pink. He didn't appreciate so much attention turned on him for so long.  _But he brought it on himself…_

"Anyhow, moving on…" Ryuuma now drew the attention back to himself. "Let us now test these abilities you say you have." He gave a dangerous smirk. "You could think of it as an initiation of sorts. Let us return to the ball room."

The redhead had to roll his eyes.  _Ball room?_ He made a face at that dingy, disgusting room with the high ceiling, being called a  _ball room_.

The men all followed Ryuuma into the spacious room, but he stopped just outside the door.

"Hey, girls!" he called back into the dining area. "Come out when you can! You can watch this if you'd like." Letting the door swing shut behind him, he followed the others into the center of the room.

"Takeshi, Torao, bring over the goods, please. Everyone except for Renji, Grimmjow, Byakuya and… er…"

"Ulquiorra, sir." He bit out irritably.

"Yes, yes. Everyone but these four will eventually be standing at the perimeter of the room."

Takeshi and Torao dragged out two large, long, black wooden boxes. Renji had seen them before. The lids were kicked off of them in the midst of the four young men, and what was inside provoked expressions of awe from all, even from the stoic Ulquiorra. Renji sighed, meeting the unusually level gaze of Grimmjow.

The redhead turned a sidelong gaze onto his grandfather. He appeared to be experiencing some sort of unholy pleasure from pitting friends against each other. Ryuuma grinned, and Renji shuddered.  _Reminds me of the snake…_

"Choose your weapon."

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) Ojiichan -** **_grandpa, gramps; In this case, Renji was referring to his grandpa as "Gramps", which is very casual and informal. Definitely not "respectful" in terms of the situation that he's in right now._ **

**2) Outousama -** **_father (-sama makes it respectful and it makes the father important)_ **

**3) oyaji -** **_Old man, like_ ** **_father_ **

**4) Otousan -** **_father_ **

**5) Kaasan -** **_mom_ **

**6) neesan -** **_means big sister, but it's used in yakuzas to refer to the women. To clarify something, although these characters are referring to their biological family members as such, their loyalty is really to the yakuza. They would follow orders even if it meant killing their own mother, basically. The yakuza itself is a family. So it can get a bit complicated, I suppose_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this, even though it took a little over a month to get out (I'm counting from the time I posted chapter 3 of my SasuNaru fic, which is when I started this chapter 2). Tell me what you think about the characters. Also, I would have made it longer, but unfortunately time didn't allow and I would have felt rushed.
> 
> Please remember to check my profile every so often, as I post updates on my stories on there in terms of where I am on each chapter. This fic will now be going on a temporary hiatus while I work on chapter 4 of my SasuNaru fic, and will be taken off of hiatus when that chapter is posted, because at that point I will be ready to begin chapter 3 on this Bleach fic. :)
> 
> Please review! I really appreciate reviews!
> 
> (20 June, 2013) I edited this chapter again. Weeee! I hope it's satisfactory! I'm going through and doing this for all of my fics... You can check out My profile to see everything that I'm doing! It's really organized! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See disclaimer in chapter 1
> 
> This took way too long to get out... I'm really sorry about that. And I should have gotten it out sooner, considering the length of this chapter, huh? I could tell you how busy I've been, but I wont waste your time with that. Instead, I'll tell you that rather than going straight to the next chapter of my Naruto fic, I've got another chapter of Rules of the Game already written up for you guys to make up for not posting in a while. Keep in mind finals are happening, I've just gotten a job, and I'm trying to work out some kinks with my college that I'll be going to in the fall. Plus, I've got 2-3 side project I'm working on (this fic and my Naruto fic are my main ones). Please try hard to be patient, because I will update no matter what!
> 
> I didn't get any reviews for chapter 2! Sadface :(
> 
> Enjoy!

"Wait, wait." Grimmjow muttered, shaking his head. "Explain. How is this going to be set up?"

Ryuma clasped his hands together and positioned himself in front of the four. "I suppose I should tell you, shouldn't I?" he smiled humorlessly. "You four will be going at each other all at once. You may have a knife, a long range weapon and a close range weapon. No firearms are to be used. Although I expect you all to fight with the intent to kill, I also expect that none of you will actually die in this process."

Renji and Grimmjow, without hesitation, chose to use their own swords. Ulquiorra and Byakuya followed suite, choosing swords for themselves out of one of the boxes in front of them. Then they moved to the next box. Renji carefully pawed through it with the others, attempting not to cut himself on any exposed redhead already had a knife in his pocket, so he grabbed a duel bladed kusarigama **[1]** , and stepped back from the others. At this point in time, Ryuma had already left to join the women and Kazemaru on the sidelines. One by one, the other three stepped back from the boxes, and Takeshi and Torao each grabbed one and dragged them away.

"Prepare yourselves." Ryuma murmured.

The room became silent except for the rustling of Grimmjow's shirt falling to the floor. The sight of that beautiful, proud, stalking panther on his back enraged Renji. The redhead could feel his face flushing bright with indignity. The reason he had been thinking about tattoos lately was that it was high time he got his own. He was suddenly extremely thankful that Byakuya didn't know the reasons behind Grimmjow's tattoos.

"Ready… Go!"

There was a blur of movement as sword clashed against sword. Ulquiorra's eyes bore into Renji's. It was scary. Those eyes were so… empty. There was absolutely nothing there. A shiver went down Renji's spine, and Ulquiorra obviously thought he saw an opening.

_Not today, emo kid._

Renji pushed back with violent force. He feinted away and dove quickly into the small opening he'd created. But Ulquiorra stopped him. Renji had managed to drive his sword into the other's body, but Ulquiorra wasn't letting him get any further. He wasn't even letting him get away, for that matter.

"Tch!"

Renji dropped his sword and drew his kusarigama. He threw one at Ulquiorra, wrapping the man's sword in his chain. The sickle on the free end made a small scratch on the raven's cheek as it flew through the air. Then Renji went in for the kill. He dove in with his other sickle, but Ulquiorra kicked him in the stomach. Renji took it, and kept going, digging the blade into Ulquiorra's pale chest.  _Shit! I can't kill him!_ Realizing he really  _was_  going for the kill, he dragged the sickle down so that it wouldn't impale the body. Ulquiorra groaned, but he bit his lip in an attempt to silence himself.

"Ulquiorra is out!" Ryuma called. "Oh—and Grimmjow, as well?!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Renji turned to Byakuya. He was still a bit winded from that kick.  _Damn, that skinny little emo boy's got fight in him. Honestly… I know I can beat Grimmjow, but I don't think he could've beaten that kid. He was pretty good._

Byakuya's eyes were enough to make Renji jump. Not only was his face lightly spattered in blood, but his eyes were cold and calculating, as though he were slowly and meticulously working out a long and difficult math problem.

"Pick up your sword." He uttered in monotone.

Renji did as he was told. Suddenly, this was not Byakuya. This was… someone else. This presence was… heavy, crushing. He wasn't sure that he could— _No. I can't be thinking like this. Of course Byakuya's never been in a real fight, so how could I lose? I bet Ichigo wouldn't lose against this guy… Tch. That freakin' strawberry's always tellin' me I think too much._

"You do not seem to have the same killing intent that you had before." Byakuya hissed. "Why do you hesitate?"

_… He's mocking me._ _This fucker…!_

His temper was short as it was. Renji cracked. "You asshole!" he roared. "Who the fuck do ya think yer talkin' to?!"

Byakuya stood firm as Renji raced toward him in a fury. Byakuya parried his violent blow with graceful ease, and now Renji was on the defensive. But somehow, Renji couldn't help but think that, with that bored expression, Byakuya was just playing with him.

"You're sloppy." Byakuya hissed. "You're letting your emotions interfere. The only thing you should be feeling is killing intent. Your head should be clear, otherwise."

"Shut up!" Renji yelled angrily. "Don't talk as though yer above me!"

This brought a smirk to Byakuya's lips. Renji knew he was probably playing right into Byakuya's hands, but he couldn't help it. He was becoming more enraged by the second.

"This is a waste of my time. Just fall, already." Byakuya muttered.

"Why the fuck would I?"

Byakuya's eyes widened in his first real show of emotion. "Because you're bleeding, you idiot! I would think you would have passed out by now!"

They paused in exchanging blows, stopping just outside of each other's range. Renji looked down at himself.

"Oh." He said, shrugging nonchalantly. "So I am."

Renji was covered in blood. He had a gash in one of his arms, and his head was bleeding somewhere, although that may not have been too deep, because head wounds always seem to bleed a lot. He hadn't been stabbed anywhere, yet, but he had a nice cut along his left side.

_… Well I'll be damned._

He threw a cocky grin to Byakuya. "Pain is  _all_  in the mind. Ya might not be able to will away wounds, but you can will away pain."

Byakuya was also injured. But not badly, not badly at all.  _Shit. Am I that weak?…_

"You won't give up, then?" Byakuya asked, somewhat wearily.

"Hell, no!"

Byakuya sighed. Then he lunged at Renji, and before Renji could even register it, he was pinned to the ground with a blade cutting into his throat.  _So… fast…_  His heart hammered in his chest.  _I really… He could really kill me…!_

"The outcome of this was decided from the start, don't you think?" Byakuya murmured as Ryuma declared the winner of the fight. "It was decided when my ancestors were ranked above you in the Gotei 13, and this is how it will always be. I'm not sure why you expected any different…" Byakuya was glaring darkly from above Renji. Yet, he still managed to maintain an air of regality. "But wait, it's because of how I've been acting lately, isn't it? I suppose I've lowered myself… I look weak to you. Well. Now you know this is not the case." Byakuya stood up slowly, wiping the blood off of his borrowed sword.

Renji stayed there on the ground, letting various people, mostly women, pass him to go to the kitchen. It was time for them to help the injured; aka, the three of them, excluding Byakuya. His mother spared him a pitying glance, and for that, he could have ripped out her eyes.

But, no. All he wanted to do was to punch that arrogant bastard in the face. The thing was, he couldn't bring himself to look at him now.

* * *

"I deem Ulquiorra and Byakuya worthy of accepting into the Gotei 13!" Ryuma boomed. "Though, I must consult with… another source before it is official. You will most likely receive some form of contact from us within the month."

The four men were sitting around the ball room, most of them allowing women to bandage their wounds. No one looked at each other. Byakuya was unattended—he had mended his own wound. The only one he had received was from Renji, and it was not serious.

Renji couldn't face him.

Ryuma had turned to leave the room, but he stopped when Torao suddenly prostrated himself on the ground in front him. "Otousama! Please forgive your foolish grandson for his weakness! He has brought dishonor on us… Please forgive me, as well! I blame myself for not training him hard enough! Please forgive—"

"Silence, Torao." Ryuma muttered coldly. "Renji will get stronger. Have faith in the boy. It should be enough for you that your son was still standing after receiving wounds like that. Really, he should've been hospitalized. But of course, that's impossible." With that, Ryuma went into the kitchen.

Renji stood abruptly. He felt the eyes in the room subtly shift to look at him, but he did not look back. He turned swiftly to leave.

"Renji—!" his mother called out to him, but stopped at the sound of a loud thud, and something that sounded like a person falling to the floor.

Renji sighed. Takeshi had hit Grimmjow again. He hoped that Grimmjow's jaw wasn't broken,  _again_.

A hand was on Renji's shoulder.

"What?" he hissed sharply, but his expression softened when he turned and saw Yuka's concerned expression.

"Renji…" she rubbed his shoulder in a soothing manner. "You're not a disappointment. Please don't think badly of yourself..."

Renji scoffed, gently pushing his mother away from him. "Saying that kind of thing isn't going to help my state of mind right now, kaasan. But thanks." With that, he left.

* * *

Grimmjow watched as Renji left the ballroom and decided to follow suit. When he stood, a sudden impact on his face caused him to go flying. Blinking uncertainly, his vision cleared and he gazed up into the irate eyes of his father.  _Shit._

"You're weak!" Takeshi spat at him. "Disgustingly weak. Get out of here. None of us want to see anything as pathetic as you."

"Actually… wait, Grimmjow." Ryuma had come back from the kitchen with a cup of sake. "Takeshi,"

"Yes sir?"

"Do you train your son hard?"

"Yes sir! Of course!" Takeshi replied indignantly.

"Then why, Takeshi, did Grimmjow, here, lose to a boy who has never fought in a real life-or-death battle, nor in a battle to protect his honor? Why did this newcomer win, and Grimmjow lose?"

Takeshi opened his mouth as if to reply, but he shut it quickly. Grimmjow could easily see in Takeshi's eyes that he was panicking. The elderly Kazemaru also shifted around uncomfortably. But maybe it was just because he was old.  _Keh. He probably can't hear what's going on from over there._

"Surely it was no error on your part," Ryuma assumed with a dark look at Takeshi.

Takeshi didn't reply.

"If it is no fault of your own, then your stupid son must not be a very good student." Ryuma reasoned with mock civility. "If this is so, then why don't you come over here, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow did as he was told, with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Takeshi looked like he desperately wanted to say something. His face was turning pink.

"Kneel, boy."

Grimmjow kneeled. His stomach did a sort of flip that landed in his feet when he realized that Ulquiorra would see this.

"Now, I always carry these things on me in case something like this ever happens." Ryuma shuffled around in the folds of his clothing. "Ahh. Here they are!"

Soon Grimmjow's hands were tied with a rope that tore at his wrists. The rope was hammered into place with a large, iron nail so that his hands were not only tied together, but they were pinned to the rough, wooden floor in front of the blunette. Grimmjow closed his eyes, trying to will himself into another place. But he couldn't stop the terror that shot through him when he heard the  _whoosh_  of the whip, just before it struck his back.

"Augh—mmfph!"

Ryuma waited a moment.

Then he struck again.

"Hnnng!"

Grimmjow's lip was bleeding now, he was biting it so hard.

This pattern of whip-pause-whip-pause continued for a moment until Ryuma said, "Ah… This is hurting my own back!" he laughed heartily. "Why don't you continue, Takeshi?"

Grimmjow heard a quiet, almost silent intake of breath from his father.  _Idiot. If I could hear that sign of weakness from down here, then so could Ryuma who's right next to you…_

"Careful not to bite yer tongue." Takeshi muttered.

Takeshi did it much more quickly than Ryuma had done. Nonetheless, Grimmjow was quickly slipping into unconsciousness. He had already lost enough blood beforehand, during his short fight with Byakuya. Just before he passed out completely, he thought with satisfaction,  _It's a damn good thing that I texted Ichigo before this… At least he'll be expectin' me._

* * *

He couldn't believe it.

Renji looked down at the sheathed Zabimaru, and leaned backward to look up at the sky. It was quiet up here on the roof. He could think clearly here.

If he couldn't beat some newb, did Renji really deserve those tattoos? They were a sign of pride, strength and honor as a man—no, not just as a man, as a powerful member of the Gotei 13! And he had been shot down like nothing! Renji looked at Zabimaru again.  _I honestly don't deserve that sword…_

What's more, adding salt to the wound, Renji had not lost against just any newb, but against his  _boyfriend_. What the fuck was that, anyway? Renji was in the eleventh division for a reason! He was a fighter! He was just one seat below the vice-captain! He was  _that_  strong!

_Damn it…_

How could someone who has never fought for their life before, in even the basest manner (let alone in a swordfight), defeat him? It was infuriating.

"Renji?" It was his mother. "Where are you?"

"Up here, kaasan." He called, perching himself up on his elbows.

"Oh, Renji I was looking for you. I was worried you'd left." When Renji didn't say anything, Yuka asked, "Can I come up there?"

Renji sighed. "I can't stop you."

He heard Yuka climb up the side of the building, and soon she was next to him. For a while, they simply laid next to each other in silence, gazing up at the night sky. Renji could see so many more stars out here than back at home in the city. It was one of the things that he enjoyed about this shady old place.

Yuka sighed. "Renji," she said at length. "Your father and I didn't bring you up coddling and babying you. I might be different, but, like any decent mother, I  _do_  worry about you." She fell quiet, perhaps expecting Renji to say something. When he didn't, she continued. "I know that this loss today was a blow to you. Although your father is upset about it, I know you and I know that you're much more upset. You know your father cares for you in his own way. That's why he apologized for you and for us right away. He didn't want you to be severely punished. But… he desperately wants to uphold the honor of the Abarai clan as well, and sometimes these two interests just don't mesh."

"How dare Byakuya just come in and fucking beat me like that! How the fuck does that even happen! I have been training so hard my entire life just so shit like this  _doesn't fucking happen_! To think, earlier I'd been thinking about what kindsa tattoos I should be getting…"

"No, Renji…" Yuka said. "I think that you can and will get stronger. I agree that you don't even have the right to speak of receiving tattoos right now. But I want you to come back down and apologize yourself to your father, and your grandfather, and tell them that you'll try harder."

At length, Renji replied, "… Yes, ma'am…"

Renji's hands felt damp and clammy as he climbed down the side of the building. He was a bit lightheaded. He knew something was coming. The second he stepped into the foyer, all talk ceased. Everyone that he could see was illuminated in the light of the fireplace, and they all stopped to look at him. Renji took a breath to steady himself, then moved to where Torao and Ryuma were standing. He fell to his knees, forehead to the floor.

"Otousama, I am sorry for my loss this night. I will renounce my position as third seat of the eleventh squad if you wish. However I will work harder to become stronger. I will not dishonor my family again. I will prove to you that you can count on me in the future."

The room was silent. Renji wasn't sure if Byakuya was there, and he didn't really want to know. This was humiliating.

"Rise." Ryuma's grave voice commanded. "I will not go so far as to strip you of your title, or your position… However, Torao,"

Torao stepped forward. "Renji…" He called his son's name quietly, and held out his hands. "Hand over Zabimaru."

Ryuma's eyes went wide. "Zabimaru?" he exclaimed.

Torao's expression hardened dangerously. Renji handed his pride and joy over without a struggle, but inside he could feel something crack.

"You'll get it back when your mother and I deem you fit to wield a sword like Zabimaru."

Renji lowered his eyes, and he could do nothing to stop his face from darkening with shame. "Yes, sir."

At that moment, Renji wanted nothing more than to escape.

* * *

The cots were musty and moldy, and they smelled funny. Byakuya grimaced, reluctantly laying his head down onto the hard, flat pillow. He shut his eyes tightly, thinking back on what he'd said earlier that day.

_"I'm not sure why you expected any different…"_

The look on Renji's face was… was it anger? Or something else? It was an expression that he'd never seen the redhead wear, and he couldn't quite place it.

_"I suppose I've lowered myself… I look weak to you."_ Byakuya sighed into the darkness. He didn't want to think of the expression that his boyfriend had been wearing when he'd been saying that sort of thing.

He knew that Renji was in the next room, but guilt tied him up and weighed him down with a heavy chain and it was impossible for him to do anything but wiggle around in perpetual discomfort on that dirty old cot. In Byakuya's opinion, Renji hadn't deserved to have his sword taken from him…

A small voice in his head kept reminding him that today he would have emerged the victor, no matter the means. But the rest of him couldn't stop thinking about how he had somehow dishonored his boyfriend in a way that was unacceptable, considering the circumstances.

He was concerned for Grimmjow, too. Byakuya had been washing up in the big, fancy, indoor bath (the only Japanese style room in the building, he'd learned) that evening, and when walking back to his room, he'd caught Torao talking to Renji next door. With his door cracked open, Byakuya had been able to capture bits and pieces of the conversation. It was about Grimmjow, and about how he had been whipped for his loss. Renji was shocked, and, it appeared, guilty. He had told Grimmjow…  _something_ , but Byakuya didn't catch that. What Byakuya did hear was that Torao saying that if anything were to happen, Takeshi knows that they would be on  _their_  side.

It wasn't his place to wonder what it all meant… But for Ulquiorra's sake, he was really worried about Grimmjow. He had stood there and watched the flogging happen. It had been so inhumane. Not to speak of Grimmjow's position, it was as if Takeshi had to steel himself after each blow to do it again.

_Damn it._ Byakuya placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He really wanted to talk to Renji.

_… Can pride make a man a coward?_ He was so tired from this strange, eye opening day. His head was spinning a bit. But Byakuya truly wondered: could his pride also sometimes constitute cowardice? He knew that at times, one had to overcome their pride and do things that humbled them—humiliated them, even. But one had to overcome fear, as well. Was he afraid of going next door ( _Just next door!_ He kept telling himself.) , or was he simply too proud to squarely face the man he had defeated? Was he scared of looking Renji in the eyes, or did he think he was now above Renji?

All of these and more exhausting, troubling thoughts passed through the fatigued mind of Kuchiki Byakuya, the next head of the Kuchiki clan and heir of the ancient sword style without a name.

.x.x.x.x.

_"Kuchiki,"_

Byakuya blinked rapidly.  _Where am I?_

" _Kuchiki,"_

_"Who's there?"_ Byakuya looked around warily. Everything was white. Well, it would be more accurate to say that everything was  _bright_ , and it was too hard to see anything besides this bright white light that seemed to stretch on forever. He was aware that he was kneeling, but it was with a shock that he realized that he was naked. When he instinctively tried to cover himself up, he brushed the ground.  _Wood._

_"Come."_ It was not a request. It was a command.

_"What?"_ Byakuya called.  _"Come where?"_

… Somehow, it smelled like cherry blossoms.

_"Kuchiki… Byakuya…"_ A labored breath, as though this entity was struggling to speak.  _"I… am waiting…"_

A sudden flurry of cherry blossom petals drifted softly before Byakuya, propelled by a soft breeze that came from somewhere unknown. Behind the spell of sweet pink, a figure stood.

Byakuya rose, and stepped forward, reaching out his hand.  _"… Hey!"_

His eyes suddenly flashed open to view pitch black nothingness. As he grew accustomed to the dark, Byakuya could make out the panels of the wall.

He very faintly smelled cherry blossoms.

Sighing deeply, he murmured to himself, "That dream again, huh?"

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) kusarigama - _think of ninja... this is like, two sickles with handles, connected by a long, strong chain. So it could be long range or middle range or short range, really._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be out shortly, just have patience... Which I know doesn't say a lot when it took forever and a day to get this chapter out ._.
> 
> ANYWAY. Review, please! Tell me what you think! :D But no trolling and be nice, 'kay? Criticism is accepted if it is polite and helpful :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See disclaimer in chapter 1
> 
> WARNING: Chapter contains explicit lime***
> 
> xxxx
> 
> Okay. So this chapter is my apology for getting chapter 3 out so doggone late. I felt kind of awful about it, so I did this... And then I got carried away and put in a GrimmUlqui lime ._. Please don't be mad! I know that this fic is supposed to be RenBya but there are some other couples too... And it just kind of happened... Like, the lime just sort of fell out onto the keyboard while I was typing and suddenly there was sexy time! I dunno! I'm sorry!
> 
> Anyway! I really hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I won't be posting again for a while, sadly, but if anyone wants to check out what else I'm working on, feel free to check out my profile! :)
> 
> xxxx
> 
> I just want to say that my heart really, really goes out to everyone in Oklahoma. I was crying when I watched the news this morning, it's so tragic, especially with all those children. These things happen, but it doesn't make something like this any less awful. I'll be praying for everyone!
> 
> Enjoy!

"Shit!" Grimmjow growled. His back was bleeding again, but it didn't exactly matter because Ichigo was still swinging a blade at him.

He made a move to block with Pantera, but he winced and faltered at the last moment.

Ichigo stopped, raising an eyebrow. "Oi. You good, still?"

"Yeah, keep going." The blunette ground out. He still had quite a bit of pent up frustration and anger within him. The more weakness he saw in himself, the more those feelings grew.

"Wait! Don't listen to him, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu cried, suddenly rushing to them from out of nowhere. "Kitty-chan is absolutely  _not_ okay!"

Grimmjow growled in irritation at the nickname, but was distracted in slight surprise when Karin actually interjected for once. "Yeah," she agreed casually. The other girl was lounging in a lawn chair nearby, watching the two men have it out. That, or sleeping. "Ya might wanna stop that bleeding. Those clothes are already ruined… Just saying."

Grimmjow heaved an annoyed sigh. They sat down at the picnic table, and Grimmjow tried his damnest to be patient while Yuzu tended his wounds. It's not that she wasn't good at it, he just wasn't fond of people messing with him when he was bleeding all over the fucking place.

"So," Ichigo began, feigning casualness.  _Crap. Here we go._ The blunette didn't even bother to hide his eye roll. "You never actually bothered to explain why you showed up last night in that condition, at one in the morning… If you can explain why I had to clean blood of off my carpet in the middle of the night, I'd really like to hear it."

Grimmjow scowled, settling his cheek in the palm of his hand—before jolting in surprise and pain.

"Ow, dammit!"

_Oh yeah. That hurts._

"You can start with that."

"Oh, this was the oyaji **[1]**." Grimmjow returned easily, but somehow, he couldn't say it as casually and simply as he usually did… "But…"

"… But?" Ichigo prompted, leaning forward expectantly.

"But… he did it for the same reason as why there are whip marks on my back…"

"Go on…"

"Actually, he did that, too—"

"What?!" Ichigo interrupted in horror. "That's just going too far, Grimmjow!"

"No! I mean… Shateigashira **[2]**  Ryuma made him do it… I don't think he actually wanted to or anything… I think I could tell that even someone like him wouldn'ta ever wanted to go that far…"  _Besides, he knows that pullin' shit like that woulda made kaasan cry._

They were quiet. Yuzu brought out lemonade for Ichigo, and water for Grimmjow. Grimmjow hated sour things. He placed his hands on the glass, enjoying the coolness. He took a few gulps from it, glancing up at the other man when he heard him sigh.

The question came slowly, as if Ichigo knew this was a loaded inquiry. "So… What caused all this, then?"

Grimmjow opened his mouth as if to answer, but he shut it as a wave of doubt washed over him.

"Uhh. I dunno if I'm in a position to tell ya right now… All you need to know is that there's this guy I fought—on 'friendly' terms, 'kay?—'n I lost. I was supposed to win—I mean I was expected to. And… ya know how Seireitei is to anyone in a family that used to be with Hueco Mundo…"

Ichigo nodded solemnly. "… Well damn…"

Grimmjow crossed his arms moodily. They sat in a heavy, yet somehow companionable silence. There was a strange comfort and understanding in it that would have been lacking in speech. Ichigo's phone vibrated dully now and then on the table. Once, a soft smile graced his tanned visage, but it disappeared before Grimmjow could make a jab at him.  _Keh. Probably his cute little girlfriend._

Ichigo stretched his arms out wide, giving a contented sigh-groan.

"Well, I guess we should head back."

"Mhmm…" Grimmjow suddenly started out of his empty daydream. "Wait. What? Why? And—wait! We?!"

Ichigo shrugged casually. "Well, I mean, you'll just get into more trouble if you can't take your punishment gracefully, right? Besides, I wanna know what's going on."

Grimmjow sighed, shaking his head. Really, he didn't care  _that_  much that Ichigo was coming.  _He_ simply did not want to return. Not after that humiliating defeat… He did not want to face Ulquiorra.

Sighing once more, Ichigo stood and picked up both of their drink glasses. "Well, let's go."

Grimmjow stood slowly, arching his body into a deep, cat-like stretch. He followed Ichigo into the house, Karin slowly trailing after.

"Oi, Ichigo!" The bluenette called as he flopped unceremoniously onto the couch. "You bringin' yer lil' lady with ya?"

"Nah!" Ichigo called back from up in his room. In a moment, he was shuffling back down the stairs, sword in hand. "Hey, ya wanna let anyone know you're comin' back? So that they don't think ya just ditched, I mean."

Grimmjow shrugged. He probably  _should_ do that, but the consequences would be the same either way. Ulquiorra was out of the question. Renji was probably still in a mood, and his oyaji was probably more pissed than he'd ever been in his life. So…

"Nope. Outta the question." He grunted, heaving himself off the couch.

"Kitty-chan!" Yuzu ran into the room, her big, brown eyes bright with worry. "Don't you want to re-bandage your wounds?"

"Yeah…" Karin muttered, wandering out from where she had been in the kitchen. "Now that you're not bleeding anymore, you should have Yuzu re-bandage your wounds. I'll go up to Ichigo's room and get some clothes for you. You'll scare people if you go around covered in blood like that."

"Augh..." Growling and huffing in annoyance, the bluenette allowed Yuzu to drag him into the Kurosaki clinic.

* * *

Grimmjow took a deep breath, filling his lungs with a fresh, woodsy smell. He hated that smell.

"Hey." Ichigo clapped Grimmjow on the back. A little more hiking and they'd be back at the old base. "I'll back you up if something happens."

Grimmjow scoffed. He knew just how untrue that statement really was. Ichigo—no, no one in their right mind—would  _ever_ go against their higher-ups.

A loud noise like a gunshot reverberated around them. They stopped, instinctively hiding themselves.

"What the fuck?!" Grimmjow mouthed at Ichigo.

"Dunno." Ichigo mouthed back.

It was far off, but it came from the direction they were headed. As he peered around the thick tree trunk he hid behind, Grimmjow could make out a figure moving east, hopefully away from the unused base. Probably away, Grimmjow decided, as they were moving at a southwesterly angle to make it there.

When the figure disappeared into the trees, Grimmjow breathed a sigh of relief. They continued walking in a wary silence.

Soon enough, a large, daunting edifice emerged from among the trees. "Well, here we are." Ichigo murmured.

They stopped in front of the old, dilapidated structure. It loomed over Grimmjow as a dictatorial old patron, and a tight bundle of nerves where his stomach was supposed to be clenched even tighter as he shoved open the doors. Takeshi was leaning up against the wall in the entry hall. He didn't look at them, and only inhaled the tobacco within his cancer stick. The cinders in the tip burned red-orange, the only real light in the hall. Some noise was coming from the direction of the kitchen, but all was generally quiet. Ichigo stood at Grimmjow's side.

Finally, Takeshi's striking silver eyes peered over at him. Just him—Grimmjow. Takeshi inhaled deeply, contemplatively. As he straightened his back away from the wall, he sighed out billowing, grey toxin.

"Well." He muttered at length. "You're back." Now, there were small crystals of green shining like emeralds against the metallic backdrop of his irises. His eyes always seemed to Grimmjow like an ever changing kaleidoscope. If he didn't know better, he'd almost think Takeshi's eyes functioned like some kind of mood indicator. He remembered his mother often joking about that with Takeshi.

Grimmjow sneered at him. "Tch. Didja think I'd be scared off by a little spanking?"

Takeshi shrugged apathetically and turned his back. To Grimmjow's utter shock, he was walking away.

_What, no yellin'? No beatin' me? Not even a single damn threat?!_ Grimmjow cocked his head to the side in confusion.  _… What the hell?!_

Grimmjow and Ichigo followed Takeshi at a cautious distance. The bluenette was jumping at shadows now. He was starting to panic, not from punishment, but from lack thereof. It was like he was waiting for a verdict and a sentence. He was hanging in the balance.

But Takeshi had disappeared into the den, and Grimmjow and Ichigo were now heading toward the stairs. The old wood creaked loudly with each step, and Grimmjow was sure that if nothing had happened yet, it would happen now, for these noises would alert his punishers (whoever they may be) of their/his presence. Hopefully they wouldn't take Ichigo, too.

… But nothing happened.

"… I'm going to my room." Grimmjow muttered finally. "Comin'?"

Ichigo nodded, still surveying the area with suspicion. Evidently, he was of the same opinion as Grimmjow pertaining to their upcoming punishment… if they were indeed to receive one. Still, it was very quiet.

Suddenly, a stark white arm shot out from the darkness and slammed against the wall with a thump, blocking Grimmjow's path into his room. Luminous green eyes, gleaming with irritation, met bemused ice blue with harsh accusation. A shiver of fear ran up Grimmjow's spine.

Then, came the voice—that ever changing, ocean-like, yet somehow always melancholy voice—that he so desperately desired and yet so desperately did not want to hear.

"You're coming with me." Ulquiorra intoned gravely. "We need to talk."

Grimmjow glanced a bit sheepishly at Ichigo, giving him an awkward shrug. "See ya in the mornin'," he said as he was dragged off to his boyfriend's room.

The door to Ulquiorra's room slammed shut, and he began lighting a few candles with his lighter.

_Wait. His lighter?_

"Ulquiorra," Grimmjow began hesitantly, "Why in the hell do you have a lighter?"

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes dramatically. "I'm lighting candles in a place that is  _supposed_  to have electricity, and you ask why I have a lighter? Really, Grimmjow? But anyway, the electricity is temporarily out."

"Well I just didn't know that you smoked!"

Ulquiorra exhaled a long, slow breath. "No, Grimmjow. No, I do not smoke." But he glanced away for a moment, with what seemed like discomfort. "But I did for a few years… Now I just keep this lighter on me."

Grimmjow's eyes widened, and he laughed loudly. "Wow!" He exclaimed. "My cute little honors student is a bad boy!"

Ulquiorra scowled. "Did you forget that I wanted to speak with you? Be serious, for once!" he hissed irately.

Grimmjow dropped his smile instantly.  _Whoops._ "My bad…" He shifted around awkwardly in the semi-darkness, trying to make out the shape of the grimy little cot.

Then he felt slim, strong fingers grip his hand and tug. "Over here." Ulquiorra murmured.

Indeed, so it was. Grimmjow nearly fell over it, and Ulquiorra snorted in amusement.

"Sit." He commanded. He never  _asked_  anything.  _Nope, not that young master._

"At least a please would be nice…" The bluenette grumbled as he crawled onto the cot.

Ultimately ignoring that comment, Ulquiorra scrambled onto Grimmjow's lap. Entirely surprised by this, Grimmjow's hands floundered around awkwardly in the air, sometimes resting somewhere on Ulquiorra's body.  _What is with this kid tonight?_

With a straight face, Ulquiorra's ghostly hands clapped Grimmjow's cheeks.

"Oww!" he glared at his boyfriend. "What the fuck was that?!"

The black haired man grabbed his nose and yanked it, hard.

"Arghh! Shit—!"

Then, after all of these entirely unexpected proceedings, the ultimately unexpected event occurred. Ulquiorra wrestled Grimmjow free of his shirt before the bluenette could even process what was going on. The raven haired man crawled off of Grimmjow's lap and peered around at the bandaged back. He quietly "tsked" and yanked Grimmjow down a bit by the ear.

"Hatch—outch—ugh—ah—!"

"So, you went to Ichigo's huh?"

"Let—goooo!"

Mercifully, Ulquiorra let Grimmjow go. The bluenette was aware he was pouting, but he just hoped (in vain, he knew) that Ulquiorra couldn't see.

"I know that you needed to be away and let yourself cool down. Your father evidently knew this, too. Abarai-sama didn't think that you would return. But your father stuck up for you." Ulquiorra shook his head disapprovingly. "But… still. You could have told me… Obviously I couldn't wait for you to return to consciousness, because that would show that I was overly concerned… But you never came back."

"But you just said you knew I would. So what gives, huh?" Grimmjow growled irritably.

"I knew you'd come back, because I know how your temper runs. But… with those wounds, and everything else…"

"Tch." Grimmjow knew what he was saying. Really, he did. But… "In this business, worrying gets ya nowhere fast. Ya better learn that now."

"I already know that…"

"Speakin' of…" Grimmjow pulled Ulquiorra closer to him. He was a bit surprised when the other didn't object; he was usually adverse to displays of affection, whether public or private. "Who teaches you how to fight? And why? Is it just like, tradition, or something?"

"No…" Ulquiorra hesitated, looking up at Grimmjow with his bright green orbs. Damn, Grimmjow wanted to kiss him then. But that would just earn him a slap on the face. "Actually, my sofu **[3]**  was in Hueco Mundo…"

Grimmjow couldn't suppress a small gasp. "Really?" he asked softly.

Ulquiorra nodded. "I received the zanpakuto, Murciélago, from my otousama **[4]**  before his death."

"Oh… Kinda like how I got Pantera passed down to me, I guess… But that's kind of a shocker. No wonder yer family's so rich, they're yakuza!" Grimmjow exclaimed, laughing a bit.

Ulquiorra shrugged, yawning.

"Ya tired?" Grimmjow glanced down at Ulquiorra. "I'll leave if ya—"

"No."

"Mhmm. Whatever." Grimmjow couldn't resist the grin the spread across his face. He dragged Ulquiorra even closer, leaning down to nuzzle his soft neck. He still smelled faintly like soap from the bath he'd had earlier that evening. Deciding to take advantage of Ulquiorra's willing mood, he took the plunge. Grimmjow kissed Ulquiorra softly on the neck, and, receiving no negative response, he moved to the lips. It was a light, chaste kiss at first. Grimmjow needed the go ahead to continue. Call him whipped if you want, but he had learned his lesson not to test Ulquiorra. He had learned the hard way.

Grimmjow allowed Ulquiorra to deepen the kiss at his own leisure. Soft lips opened up against his, and he followed the movement like a shadow. Then, hesitantly, something soft and wet slipped into Grimmjow's mouth. He immediately took over the kiss. Threading fingers through Ulquiorra's soft, black hair, Grimmjow tilted his head back to gain better access. His other hand ghosted up one of Ulquiorra's arms. It swept softly along his shoulder blade, then lightly down the path of his spine. His lover shivered slightly, and wrapped both of his arms around Grimmjow's neck, pressing closer. When they broke apart for air, the bluenette was able to glimpse a very light, pink flush across Ulquiorra's cheeks. It was kind of a secret, but big, bad Grimmjow was completely unable to resist cute things. Ulquiorra was extremely adorable, in his opinion. But if he ever said that, he'd get a fist in his face.

The quiet, studious boy could be much more violent than people thought.

Ulquiorra leaned in again, brushing his lips against Grimmjow's. He ran his tongue across the bluenette's bottom lip, and bit it, enticing a soft growl. Grimmjow tugged Ulquiorra's arm, hard, causing the top half of his lithe body to land on Grimmjow's lap. He lifted Ulquiorra's chin up for a more aggressive kiss, still holding onto his arm lest he should shy away from Grimmjow's vigor. And he did, at first. He stiffened, and attempted to pull back. But Grimmjow took his hand away from his chin, and ran it slowly up and down his spine. He caressed Ulquiorra's tongue seductively, gently, intending to make his heart burn with desire for him.

Grimmjow finally pulled away. Both of them were gasping for air, and Grimmjow moved a stray lock of hair away from Ulquiorra's face. Unable to resist more, he began on the pale neck, planting open-mouthed kisses and allowing his teeth to graze here and there.

"Grimm…" Ulquiorra murmured in protest.

Grimmjow peered up at him from his ministrations. He knew what was coming. But he didn't want to stop.

"Don't worry." He uttered. His voice was dark and low, and he knew that hearing it turned his lover on. "I'm not gonna try anythin' here."

Ulquiorra looked away for a moment, as if contemplating something. Grimmjow was growing impatient.  _Three months, and he_ still  _hasn't put out… Damn it…_

"Alright." Ulquiorra whispered. "Just do… whatever… As long as we don't risk being found out… And as long as you go to your own room after!"

"Hah. That's a given, babe."

"Don't call me tha—"

Grimmjow silenced him with another kiss. He knew Ulquiorra hated being called by such a feminine pet name, but at the moment, Grimmjow was a bit irritated. He needed to relieve some stress, and Ulquiorra wasn't exactly the most generous or understanding lover in the world…

Grimmjow dragged Ulquiorra all the way onto his lap, so that he was straddling him. He made sure that Ulquiorra was pressed against the growing hardness straining against his jeans.

"You should feel bad for constantly being such a tease." Grimmjow muttered.

Ulquiorra squirmed around in discomfort, and Grimmjow barely stifled a groan. Ulquiorra was bright pink now—and what Grimmjow would give to see that cute face underneath him, and moaning his name.

Grimmjow's hands slid down Ulquiorra's back to his ass, massaging it and fondling it. With that attention on his ass, Ulquiorra began unconciously moving his lower body against Grimmjow's now full-on erection.

"You have such a fine ass…" Grimmjow whispered huskily.

Ulquiorra let out a rather embarrassing mewl, but he tried to cover it with a gasp. "St—stop…" he whispered softly.

If he  _really, really_ wanted to get away, he could.

So Grimmjow licked Ulquiorra's lips and kissed him lightly. "No." Slowly, Grimmjow's hands snaked up underneath Ulquiorra's shirt. When hands flew down to stop him, Grimmjow smirked evilly. "It's not fair that my shirt's off, but yours isn't."

Ulquiorra scowled, but allowed Grimmjow to lift his shirt off. The bluenette ran his hands up and down the soft, white flesh, marveling at its unblemished perfection. It was wholly free of any mark, bruise, scratch or scar; a pure body, not a killing machine—unlike his own body.

"Why do you always stare at me like this?" Ulquiorra asked insecurely.

Grimmjow shrugged, leaning in and brushing his lips against his lover's. "'Cuz yer not exactly what I see when I look in the mirror."

Ulquiorra was about to say something, but whatever he could have said was turned into a low moan when Grimmjow palmed his crotch through his pants. It was his way of telling Ulquiorra to just shut up and enjoy. The mood Grimmjow was in, he wasn't about to let this situation be ruined for him. He needed this. Ulquiorra's fingers dug into Grimmjow's shoulders as he unzipped his fly. He grinned upon hearing Ulquiorra's gasp, but that grin quickly turned to a lusty groan as Ulquiorra bit down hard on his shoulder to silence himself. Grimmjow also tried to muffle his voice, but did so just a bit late, in his opinion.  _Fuck it. People should be asleep now, assholes._

Grimmjow hoisted Ulquiorra up a bit and yanked off both his pants and his underwear. He grinned up at the blushing man and gave a few gentle strokes to Ulquiorra's member.

"Look at this…" Grimmjow took a finger and pressed it onto the slit, making Ulquiorra wriggle a bit. "Yer already like this…" He pulled his hand away and licked the pre-cum off of his finger. "Why do ya always say no when yer body obviously wants it?"

Grimmjow allowed his left hand to slip down to cup Ulquiorra's ass cheek again. His other hand brought Ulquiorra's hand to his fly.

"Me too?" he inquired innocently.

His thoughts were anything  _but_ innocent, and Ulquiorra knew it. Grimmjow slid his hand back onto Ulquiorra's erection and began pumping it, his hand easily sliding up and down with the aid of the dripping pre-cum.

With a shaking hand, Ulquiorra slowly unzipped Grimmjow's jeans. He suddenly jolted at a particularly tasty thrust from Grimmjow's hand, and had to stifle another moan.

"Grimm…" he pleaded huskily.

"Keh… You can be so scatterbrained… Aren't you supposed to be stripping me right now? But instead it looks like you're enjoying yourself…" Grimmjow asked mockingly.

"I—Ah—!"

"Shhh…"

As little control as Grimmjow usually had over himself in these situations, his life and Ulquiorra's could very possibly be over if they got caught screwing around. So as he rid himself of his jeans, he resisted the urge to make moan Ulquiorra even louder and instead covered his mouth up with his own. The bluenette grinded against Ulquiorra, who was now eagerly responding to his thrusts and returning the favor in kind. Grimmjow nearly began suffocating on Ulquiorra's tongue when he felt a hand unexpectedly begin to rub both of their erections together.

"Augh! Shit!" He choked out.

"Shhh…" Ulquiorra shushed him, glaring at him with something almost like amusement in his eyes.

Rolling his eyes, Grimmjow pushed Ulquiorra backward onto the cot and kissed him, biting his lip.

"Don't tell me to be quiet." He growled unhappily.

He slowly pumped their stiff cocks together, nipping lightly at Ulquiorra's neck, until the pale man was writhing underneath him, straining for more friction.

"Again I say… And you said ya didn't want it…" Grimmjow hissed in his ear.

His speed was hastening, and Ulquiorra was thrusting erratically into his hand. He was so close, but Grimmjow forced himself to keep going. A quiet grunt managed to escape his lips, but he clenched his teeth and screwed his eyes shut in determination.  _Keep going_.

"Grimm… jow.. nnh…!" Ulquiorra moaned, his body shuddering in ecstasy.

That was the last straw for him. Grimmjow buried his face into the crook of Ulquiorra's neck and bit down, hard, to stifle any noise he'd make. His body jolted in ecstasy with each shot of semen that erupted from him.

"AH—!" Ulquiorra's hand flew over his mouth to stifle his cry of pain from the bite.

Grimmjow gently cupped Ulquiorra's balls and dragged his fingers up the length of his shaft. His hand encircled the swollen head, dripping with their pre-cum and Grimmjow's come. He gave the cock a shallow pump, and received a small moan in return. Ulquiorra was at his limit. The way he was looking at Grimmjow was almost enough to make him hard again. He couldn't resist. This was too sexy.

Grimmjow leaned over Ulquiorra's cock and licked it slowly, all the way from the base to the tip. Ulquiorra turned bright red, and covered his face to hide the fact he was blushing that hard. Unfortunately for him, his neck and ears were red, too.  _So fuckin' cute._  Grimmjow wrapped his tongue around the head of the penis, tasting his own semen mixed in with the pre-cum. In a strange way, it was sort of a turn on.

Ulquiorra writhed and gasped under his teasing ministrations, constantly emitting soft moans that were muffled by the forearm he was trying to keep over his mouth. When Grimmjow finally took all of him into his mouth, Ulquiorra gasped as one of his hands flew down to grab the tuft of blue hair. Almost right away, he felt warmth invading his mouth. Quickly pulling away, he felt it splatter onto his face as well.

After a moment, Ulquiorra peeked up sheepishly at Grimmjow from underneath his arm. "Sorry…" he murmured, still bright red.

Grimmjow just threw him a satisfied grin and began wiping them both off with his shirt.

_Shit. Wait. This is Ichigo's—Oh well. What he don't know won't hurt 'im…_

Grimmjow found Ulquiorra's shirt first, and tossed it to him. Then he went on the hunt for his own clothes. Unexpectedly, he was interrupted.

"Um…"

Grimmjow glanced at Ulquiorra for a moment. "Hm?"

"Can you…" The dark haired man look down at the shirt in his lap, frowning. "Will you stay here tonight?"

_… Well, sonuva—_

"It doesn't necessarily mean that we did anything! Ichigo saw me drag you off to talk to you, and maybe we just fell asleep talking to each other, or you were too lazy to go back to your room."

"Hey! Why do I have to be too lazy? Why can't I just be tired?"

"Because you're trash." Ulquiorra was trying to sound haughty, but it was probably difficult even for someone like him when they've just experienced an orgasm and are still incredibly naked.

Grimmjow sighed, and glanced at the door uncertainly. Surely, this was not a smart move. But… Ulquiorra had never really requested him before. He'd always just been following Ulquiorra like a love-sick puppy. It was aggravating, really.  _Why am I dating this kid, again?_   _I put up with all his fuckin' verbal abuse and I get nothin' for it…_

"Fine… I guess…" He was a bit suspicious… Just a bit.

Tentatively, Grimmjow lied down on the cot, waiting for Ulquiorra to tell him to move, and sleep on the floor. If he told him that, he'd go to his own room. But that never happened. Instead, Ulquiorra crawled up next to him and snuggled closer, bringing the thin, moth eaten blankets up with him.

Ulquiorra sighed. "I need time…" he whispered.

"Hmm?" Grimmjow didn't understand the sudden statement.

"I'm not gay, Grimmjow… I told you that on the outset… I'm not gay, so I need… time… Does an idiot like you even understand how difficult this is for me to say?!"

Grimmjow covered his mouth, and sighed heavily into his hand. He imagined that all of his rage was poured out of his body in that one breath. That's what he'd been taught in his anger management classes. He'd learned to simply ignore the rude things that spewed forth from those wonderful, gossamer lips. Ulquiorra might hurt and aggravate him, but if he ever struck out at Ulquiorra in one of his rages, the damage might be irreversible.

"Look…" he began, trying to sound calmer than he was. "I'm not gay, either. Don't get me wrong, I don't go for guys, but I don't think you look like a girl, either. But… you're just, to me…" Grimmjow shook his head, turning his head away from Ulquiorra. If he didn't get it by now…

"I know…" Ulquiorra whispered. To Grimmjow's surprise, Ulquiorra's hand hesitantly found his. "I know how you feel… And I at least know that I have a similar feeling… I want to be more physical with you, but, because we are both male, I struggle with the… with it." He ended awkwardly.

Before Ulquiorra knew what was coming, Grimmjow turned and kissed him on the forehead.

In response to Ulquiorra's wide eyes, he said, "We'll work on it." He said it, and he meant it. But damn, it was hard with someone so awful at communicating things like that...

* * *

Renji blew out a heavy gust of air and wiped the sweat off of his brow. The sun was beginning to set. He had enjoyed a nice, solitary trek out into the wilds surrounding the forest, and he was now ready to return. Tomorrow was Monday, and they would leave with the first train of the morning.

He still hadn't spoken to Byakuya.

The scent that told of the coming winter filled the air; a clean, bitingly cold scent that pervaded Renji's nostrils and made his lungs ache. The sky was more grey than anything these days, so he could tell that that first frosty gust of the new season would be coming sooner rather than later. The redhead pushed his hands into his pockets. It disturbed him not to have that heavy, familiar weight of his sword at his hip. He felt like he'd been tugged out of his skin, and put on display, a vulnerable, naked mess of tissue and bone, for all to see.

Or something like that.

He sighed moodily. He disliked as well, the fact that Byakuya was not by his side. The raven haired man never said much, but his presence spoke volumes, for he was a man who was disinterested in most things save for his studies and his clan. It was a warm, assuring presence, always.

But not anymore.

Ever since that Earth-shattering realization that  _Byakuya could easily kill him_ , the man, along with his comforting presence, was no more. It was colder and more unfeeling than steel, yet when Renji was in the same room with Byakuya he felt that he was choking, and he had to escape this man who could kill him without words. It was a heavy, menacing presence that Renji had been too full of himself to notice before. But it had always been there, and that was something that made him shudder.

Renji pulled out an unopened pack of cigarettes from his jacket. He hadn't smoked for two years, but he needed it now. He was able to bum this new pack off of his dad, who sort of had some weird, twisted understanding and pity with Renji that was difficult to explain. Usually, he'd never ask anything from his dad. But sometimes…

As the redhead lit up, he paused on his journey back to the mansion, and glanced up at the sky. The sun peeked out slightly from behind the clouds, and the shedding trees were kind enough to let some of the light pass through their long, spindly fingers. Renji sighed out a breath of gaseous grey matter, tilting the cigarette in between his fingers.

He finally looked ahead, growling softly to himself in frustration before placing his cigarette back in between his lips.

He wanted to see him.

God help him, but he  _had_ to see him.

A growing feeling of discomforted wiggled its way into the pit of Renji's stomach. What would he say? How would Byakuya perceive him now?

"Shit…" he muttered.

"I wouldn't normally say anything, but you shouldn't smoke."

The sudden voice made him jump in surprise. Two gorgeous, dark eyes bore into Renji's own from a few yards away. Byakuya was sitting on a large rock, and leaning against a thick tree. His pale skin looked mystical in the dim, cloudy dusk, and his hair was still damp from his bath. Irritation sparked feebly in Renji.

"You should go dry your hair. It's chilly out." He muttered as he passed the raven haired man.

Renji heard a sigh, and then what sounded like Byakuya moving. He wanted to scream. He couldn't take having his back to… a  _predator_  like this.

"You're uncomfortable, I can sense that much." Byakuya calmly interposed.

Renji stiffened slightly. "Tch. Wonder why? The guy who was pissed at me for killing is a killing machine himself!" Renji hoped that what he was saying would cut into the unfeeling man, at least a bit.

"Alright, I will give you that." Byakuya seemed to concede. "But… does that have anything to do with our relationship?"

Renji had to keep himself from gagging. "Okay. I  _know_  that this is not why you came out here. You were  _not_  looking for me to talk to me about this shit." Renji's tone was cruel and mocking, but at this point he wasn't about to try and fix that. He allowed his voice to drip with all the sarcasm and venom he could possibly muster. "You just saw me, and being the proud, noble shit you are, you decide, 'Well, I guess there's no way around it then, huh?' I'm right aren't I? I don't even want to look at you." Renji's stomach flopped uncomfortably and he knew that he would regret the rest of this. "You're disgusting. Why don't you come back to me once you've grown some balls and your pride doesn't get in the way every fucking thing that happens to you!" He couldn't bring himself to look at Byakuya. This was shameful. But if he looked at him, he might change his mind. "Until you know what I'm talking about, I don't want you to come near me. We're done."

Renji thanked every God in the earth, sky and sea that the ever thickening knot in his throat didn't overwhelm him until the end of his little spiel.

* * *

"Okay, so they are after it, too…" Ryuma tapped his pen onto the wooden table, biting his lip in thought.

"Yes, sir!" The man across from him affirmed.

Ryuma glared back up at him. God, but he got shivers from just looking at him. He looked like a ghost. And those eyes… A good for nothing snake, through and through.

"That gonna be all, mister?" The man asked impatiently.

Ryuma sighed, absently petting his beard. "Yes… I supposed that will be all. I will be reporting to the head of the Zero Division as per usual."  _So if you lie, we'll know…_

"Yessir! Gotcha, sir!" The man put on a big, perky grin before getting up to exit.

"Make sure you go the back way." Ryuma rumbled in a low voice. "Or else the others will see you…"

"I know, sir…"

He didn't trust him, not at all. His eyes shined with a devious cunning, and his smile spoke of lies. Ryuma didn't trust him  _at all_.

So, why in all the seven hells, did the Zero Division so dearly value information given to them by  _him_ of all people?

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) oyaji: _I've made an annotation of this before, but whatevs. Old man, as in dad. Like, my ol' man the other day blah blah blah... Yeah._**

**2) shateigashira: _Yakuza 2nd lieutenant (We're gonna be getting more into the yakuza side of this, besides just tattoos lol)_**

**3) sofu: _again, I've already annotated this, but it's the "humble" way of referring to your own grandfather._**

**4) otousama: _respectful/formal way to say father (due to addition of -sama)_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO. Please, please review, but go easy on me as far as the lime goes, yeah? I tried really really hard and I've never done anything like that before. I mean, I've never done anything so... graphic. lol But really. Review! I'm eager to hear what everyone thinks :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright... I've finally updated... So sorry for the wait :/ College is kicking my butt, and so is taking care of myself... I have to clean, and buy medicine, and clean dishes and clothes and like... live life. Honestly, it's hard. It's hard, and nobody understands. I swear it's like learning how to walk all over again. I've been sick so many times I can't even count. I'm so done. SO done. 3000% done.
> 
> Enjoy!~~

"Aizen, are we ready?"

The brunette chuckled darkly. "The question is, are  _you_  ready?" He peered over at Gin with a sharp gaze. "You were gone for quite a long time. What was it you had to do?"

The white haired man smiled widely. "Just checkin' in on some old friends. They were havin' a party, and I was invited. I couldn't pass up free booze, you can respect that!"

Aizen nodded with a grin set upon his angular features. "Tosen,"

"Yes, sir?"

"Is your side prepared?"

"Of course, sir. Everything is ready."

Gin was beginning to panic just a bit. It was happening. It was happening too soon. They were already moving. He had only just told Ryouma the objective that weekend and they were already putting the plan into motion! He had not foreseen this development.

Maybe Aizen knew. About everything. About him, and Seireitei, and about Ran—

No.

_He will never take her from me._

He just hoped that he would run into a member of Seireitei before anyone else did… Then maybe, he could relay a message…

* * *

The frosty morning air was a slap in the face. Grimacing, Renji hunched over his steaming travel mug, his trembling fingers attempting to lock his front door.

"Hey, Renji!"

The redhead grumbled some sort of response. It was Monday. He hated Mondays. He hated mornings, too. On top of all this, it just all around sucked that he had… Well, that he was dealing with  _this_ situation.

"Geez, I know you hate mornings, but don't you think you're being a bit of an ass?"

Renji snorted. It was too early to talk anyway. He'd taken the first train home that morning from the mountain. He was fucking tired, and as it was he had a morning class to attend. Lucky him.

"Hey…"

"Shuuhei." Finally, Renji stopped walking and glared harshly at the brunette. "Not right now."

"Okay, dude, chill." The man raised his hands in a placating motion.

They walked together to the train station in silence. Shuuhei sighed heavily behind Renji. Honestly, the redhead felt a little guilty for treating his best friend so badly, but then again… All that was on his mind was Byakuya. Features he now saw as cruel and secretive, and arrogant. Oh, he'd known Byakuya was a proud man. But…

_Shit._

"Hey…"

Shuuhei's voice was almost not heard over the hustle and bustle of people boarding the train.

Renji sighed heavily, rolling his head around to glare at the brunette with an irritated expression. Shuuhei eventually eye contact, and they said nothing for the rest of the ride.

Shuuhei didn't know yet that Renji had been dishonored. Well, by the end of the week, everyone in the Gotei would know.

They walked to the exit together, yet separate, coming together a bit more once outside. Renji nearly jumped out of his skin though when he felt the hand placed on his lower back.

"Dude!" he fumed after placing a safe distance between himself and Shuuhei. "What the fuck!?"

Looking like a dog caught eating from the table, Shuuhei watched the ground go by as he replied with, "I don't like how miserable Byakuya is making you."

"It's none of your fucking business!" Honestly… he couldn't deny the fact that he was indeed miserable.

"Please just talk to me!" Shuuhei pleaded.

"No! I—I can't! It's—"

"It's what?" Shuuhei stopped in front of him, staring him dead in the eyes.

"I…" Renji's mind suddenly blanked, and he groped around for something to say. His discomfort was only growing. "I have to go." He muttered lamely. He shook his head and pushed past his sad looking friend.

~.x.~

_Fuuuuuck._  Renji turned his head, resting his other cheek on the cold wood of the table. Music blasted in his ears, cutting him off from the outside world. He was fine with that. It's what he needed right now. He needed to get through the day, do what he needed to do, and just…

"Ugh…"

Suddenly one of his ear buds were ripped out. He popped up, ready to snarl angrily at whomever dared disturb his solitude.

"Hey, man, what's up with you?" It was Ichigo.

Now, Renji could be pissed and annoyed that people kept paying attention to him and asking him what was wrong, or he could admit to himself that he was wearing all of his emotions on his sleeve and being a whiny bitch.

He knew damn well he was being a whiny bitch about everything. So he wasn't even going to bother getting mad at this point. Besides, the crazy librarian would rip the both of them a new one if she thought they were being too loud.

Renji sighed, motioning for Ichigo to sit across from him.

"Look…" The redhead gazed at him meaningfully. "What I'm about to tell you… it's… a hypothetical situation, right?"

"Right…?" Ichigo tilted his head in suspicion.

"Well… and don't say anything until I'm done, got it? What if, I was gay—not to say I am!—and was dating some guy. Then… I figured, we should let him into the family, since I have this relationship with him, and I'm feelin'… serious, I guess? What if, when  _they_  meet him, he gets pit against me in a fight, and I lose? And then I find out that I was almost set up to lose?"

"Well wait wait wait!" Ichigo shook his head, appearing as though he were trying to make sense of things, and was probably trying to keep it all hypothetical. "What—I know you said no interrupting, but what do you mean, 'set up'?"

The redhead sighed. "What if this guy's family is ex-yakuza… Like from the Gotei… and this guy… If this guy were born into the family, then he would've been in a position above me, basically."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Well… This bein' hypothetical and all… I would have to say that you're fucked pretty bad, man. I mean, how the hell would you get yourself into a situation like that in the first place? I don't get it…"

"Well, you're dating Rukia and everything's fucking amazing with your life so of course you wouldn't get it!" Renji replied sharply.

But he probably shouldn't have said that.  _Oops_. See, that was an… old wound…

Ichigo narrowed his eyes angrily. "I thought we were past that…"

Renji shook his head. "No, no! We are! Shit… I—I just… I don't know…" He tiredly put his face in his hands.

Ichigo stood up abruptly. "You need to get it together, dude." Ichigo began to walk away, but turned back to say, "When you really wanna talk about what's going on, look me up."

Renji sighed, getting up as well. As he walked out of the building, his phone vibrated excitedly.

"Yo."

" _Hey!_ " A feminine voice called enthusiastically.

It was Rukia. Renji's mood brightened considerably.

"Hey, Rukia."

" _What's wrong? You seem down."_

_Ugh. Here we go again._ "No, I'm fine. What've you been up to?"

" _I guess nothing much. Hey, wanna meet up for coffee?"_

"Ugh, come on Rukia, you know I hate that stuff." Nevertheless, he headed toward their coffee shop.

_"Oh come on you bum!"_ She complained.

Renji could see her. He abruptly ended the call and watched in amusement as Rukia looked at her phone in confusion. She didn't notice he was right behind her until—

Renji took a deep, loud sniff. "You smell good!" he growled in his best creepy perv voice.

She squeaked in alarm. "What the  _fuck_  Renji!"

Renji wore a huge grin as he gathered the small female up into a big bear hug. He was smiling so hard that it hurt his face.  _Maybe I should tone it down._  Renji wasn't all that familiar with faking feelings, to be honest. But it got annoying, people constantly asking what was wrong. He just didn't want to talk about it. He couldn't talk about it really, but he didn't want to either.

"So, what'll it be today little lady?" Renji asked Rukia as they walked into the coffee shop together.

"You're not insinuating that you're paying, are you? You know I won't allow that."

"And you know that I'll just end up paying anyway, so shut yer trap." Renji said, nipping the little argument in the bud.

They sat down, Renji with tea and Rukia with coffee. Rukia situated herself in her chair, giving a stern look to Renji. He saw it coming. The onslaught of questions and concerns about his life, the intrusiveness of it all.

Honestly, he was okay with it only because it was Rukia. He was sometimes ashamed of himself, the way that he acted around her. He was like a puppy or something. It pissed him off to think about it.

"So." Rukia began, peering at Renji over interlocked fingers. "What the hell is going on?"

The redhead sighed heavily, resting his head heavily on his hand. "Look… Honestly, it's nothing. Just some… er, problem I been having."

"So it's something."

"No, it's nothing!"

"It's something!"

"Nothing is wrong! I can't do anything about it, damn it! Just shut up!"

Rukia raised her eyebrows at Renji's outburst. She looked away then, slowly sipping her coffee. It was quiet for a moment—a sort of awkward silence. Renji rolled his eyes.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"Oh, it's fine. You're stressed and that's okay." She smiled at him.

Renji massaged his scalp wearily. "Okay." He finally surrendered. "I'll tell you… I just fucking told Ichigo, damn it!"

"Well, tell me. I'm curious."

Renji sighed. "Well… Okay. I see you as my little sister."

Rukia nodded, obviously not seeing where this was going. "And I see you as a brother."

"So… I love you, and care about you and accept you…"

"Mhmm. Same here. I'll always be here for you no matter what."

Renji shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Good…" He looked around, as though someone he knew might be listening in on this conversation. "I… am dating someone. Kind of."

Rukia's eyes brightened immediately. "Really? Who?" The excitement was practically radiating off of her small body.

"Byakuya…" Renji muttered, almost under his breath.

"What? I can't hear what you're saying."

"I said! Byakuya."

"I still can't hear you…"

"Damn it! Byakuya!"

Rukia's eyes widened. "Oh."

"Mhmm…"

"So… what exactly is going on?"

Renji looked at the girl and sighed. No reaction—at least outwardly—that would denote any kind of distaste, or even shock. She was obviously surprised, but being Byakuya's cousin, it seemed like she had almost seen it coming.

"Hey," Renji said. "I'm done with my drink. You wanna start heading out?"

"Sure." Rukia stood. "Where are we going? Your place?"

"Yeah."

As they stepped outside, Rukia stopped, looking intensely at Renji.

Placing a hand on his cheek, she questioned sincerely, "Now you know that you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Renji smiled gently at her concern. She was almost like a mother at times.

And that was about when Renji saw Byakuya. He was literally right behind Rukia, staring at Renji as though he were some sort of alien. The redhead's mouth fell open, almost hitting the pavement. But Byakuya only paused momentarily, giving a subtly accusatory look Renji.

Nothing was going on. Nothing… And… He was still angry with Byakuya anyway!

So why did he feel like a ball of lead had settled in his stomach?

Byakuya ended the short moment very abruptly by turning on his heel and heading into the coffee shop. Rukia turned to Renji with a sheepish expression.

"Well, if you're cheating on him, then I guess I'm cheating on Ichigo?" She phrased it like a question.

Renji rubbed his forehead in exasperation. But they weren't together right now... Were they? What was he even doing anymore?

* * *

The engine roared to life like a dragon awakening from its slumber. Toshiro sighed as he shoved his helmet over his wild, white hair. He hadn't heard a thing from Momo today. She'd been angry with him lately, and he'd been thinking that maybe it was time he should pay his friend a visit.

But that would have to wait.

Colors and sounds flew past as the man wove his way through the tightly packed streets of Tokyo. The sun was setting, and the lights were coming on. For all appearances he was used to it. But he was and always will be a country boy, and the big, flashy night lights of the big city never did cease to impress him.

He pulled a slow left turn into a little alleyway a little darker than the others. It was filled with tiny but well kept shops and bars. He parked the vehicle and shook his hair back to normal, then proceeded down a flight of stairs that hugged the outside of the building he parked next to. It was loud inside, but t was always loud.

Toshiro made a beeline for the bar. They were supposed to meet here, right? That was the message that he got from that Kurotsuchi asshole.

"Ahh~! Toshiro-kun! So glad you could make it!" Uruhara cooed at him from behind the counter.

"Hn," Toshiro didn't dignify that with a response.

Uruhara brushed it off though, and glanced at his watch. "Well, it looks like the others should be here pretty soon. In the mean time, you want me to get you a drink?"

But the other man shook his head. He didn't drink.

Uruhara shrugged. "Suit yourself, kid."

A female voice suddenly piped up next to Toshiro. "Maybe he won't drink, but I think I'll have—"

"Your usual? Cuz you know I'll get that for you  _real_  quick." Uruhara interrupted with a suggestive wink.

"No you scumbag!" Yoruichi almost leapt over the counter when she bashed his head in. That was really going to leave a mark.

"My, my! I was only joking!" The blonde waved his hands defensively. "Now, what'll it be? Would you like a drink or no?"

"Vodka. Shots."

"Here ya go! A bottle and a shot glass."

"So, Toshiro, how has your girl been doing?" Yoruichi asked, a sly lilt to her voice.

Toshiro peered at her from the side, struggling not to show just how flustered that question made him.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know." She narrowed her eyes. "Matsumoto. Isn't she one of your prospective vice-captains?"

"Huh? What's it matter?" Now he knew what that woman was getting at. She wanted gossip. The witch.

"Oh, it doesn't really, I suppose… But who are your other options?"

"Like I said, what's it matter? That is clearly not your business."

Yoruichi held up her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, I got it. No need to get snappy with me."

"Yes, Toshiro, no need tah get snappy with the lady." An unfamiliar voice spoke up to Toshiro's right.

Opting to remain calm and not cause a scene unless it was necessary, Toshio glanced over to look at who was addressing him. He couldn't see whoever it was. The person used a voice changer, so the gender was undetectable, let alone the person's looks underneath a heavy tan hood of a fleece coat.

"Your name?" Toshiro inquired flatly.

The person snickered. "Why don't ya come and sit at one of those booths over there with me?" Toshiro gave the person a skeptical look, but stood. Yoruichi made to stand as well, but the person waggled a finger at her. "Ah, ah, ah. Just Toshiro. Don't worry, I'll only have him for a moment."

Toshiro followed the stranger over to the other side of the bar on high alert. If this was a trap, he would be ready. They took their seats on opposite side of each other, Toshiro being the last to slowly and warily sit down.

"Okay," he murmured, arching an eyebrow suspiciously. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The person—man, rather—chuckled mirthlessly. The voice changer was off. Toshiro knew exactly who the person was.

"I'm not gonna to reveal myself to ya, but I think ya know who yer talking to…?"

"Ichimaru." Toshiro growled.

"Be careful." Gin cautioned. "Let's not cause a scene." Toshiro knew that bastard was probably grinning like a maniac under that hood.

"What do you want?" The white haired man hissed once more.

"Nothin', really… Do ya think ya could contact the big guy right now if ya had to?"

"… Now why would I do that?"

Gin shrugged. "Just wonderin' if ya could right now. Sometimes he's a little elusive. Ya know how higher ups are."

Toshiro impatiently slammed his hand down in the table, causing a couple of the bar's patrons to glance in their direction. He sighed huffily, crossing his arms. "Get on with it." He grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, shorty. Look, Contact the big guy 'n tell him that White Snake said, 'It's on,'"

"So you're telling me to relay a threat?" Toshiro growled, growing angry again.

Gin was quiet for a moment. Then he shrugged again. "Mm, I guess, yeah."

"I should just capture you right now!"

"Heh heh, I didn't come lookin' fer trouble, but…" Gin slowly stood up, but Toshiro was attacking.

Yoruichi and Uruhara were up in a flash but even quicker than that, Gin was gone in a puff of smokescreen.

"After him!" Yoruichi shouted.

"No." Uruhara calmly placed a hand upon the woman's shoulder. "He didn't actually do anything, so we must carry on with our meeting. It is currently of the utmost importance."

Yoruichi scowled and shook her head, but she conceded, allowing Uruhara to lead her back to her resident bar stool.

She looked back when Toshiro hadn't come back to sit next to her. "Toshiro? You coming?"

"Huh?" Shaking himself out of a stupor, he looked at her, then the door. "No," he murmured. "I'll be a minute."

"Okay, well, try and hurry up."

Toshiro nodded as he made his way toward the door. Most of the customers had left after that little incident, so it was almost empty by this point. He opened the door and came out into a hallway. After the door shut behind him, he took out his cell phone and stared at it. He walked a little bit down one way and leaned against a wall, still staring at the phone.

Finally, he pressed call. On the third ring, a low, gruff voice answered.

"What is it? This better be important!"

"I have a message for you, Ryouma-taichou."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews please! They make me want to continue! I'll continue anyway but yeah! Also PM me if anything about the chapter confused you, yeah?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for making everyone wait so long with this! :(

**_Sunday. Kutchan (Hokkaido)._ **

Rangiku laughed as she repositioned her backpack and skis. “That was some crash, Momo! I thought you might’ve been done for!”

“Of course not,” Momo briefly tossed her a coy smile. “A small tumble like that isn’t enough to hurt me.”

Rangiku giggled a bit more, and sighed. “Oh, man!” She exclaimed, with only the barest hint of weariness present in her voice. “I am so ready for some of these noodles! Ya know, they make the _best_ udon here!”

The small brunette smiled at Rangiku’s excitement and readjusted the equipment on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t know,” She admitted a bit sheepishly. “I’ve never been to Kutchan before…”

Rangiku gasped, acting scandalized. “No. Way. You’ve been going to the Sapporo Medical University a year longer than me, and didn’t know about this little gem? It’s a sin, Momo!” Momo chuckled at her friend’s dramatic exaggerations. “Man,” Rangiku continued, “I think I’m ready for some sake, too!”

“Uh, well, why don’t we go to Asahikawa Ramen? I don’t know if they have that specialty udon you’re raging about, but I’d imagine it’s still good…”

Rangiku nodded. “Yeah, definitely! These places can be a bit small, though, and it _is_ November, so it’s the very beginning of the busy season. Get ready if we have to wait, alright?” Momo nodded, but Rangiku suddenly shouted, “Oh, wait!” and began tugging the light-weight girl in another direction completely. “This place! Yamamoto Shokudo! It’s open! I never know when this place is going to be open! Let’s go there!”

“Alright, alright!”

They went in to the small eatery, and were not surprised to find a crowd. However it was not quite so full that they had to wait for a long time. They got lucky, and only had to stand for fifteen minutes.

When they were comfortably seated and looking over the menu, Rangiku asked, “What do you think you’re getting?”

“Hmm,” Momo tilted her head thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes at the menu. “I don’t know. What’s good?”

“You should get the nabeyaki udon! Their udon here, seriously, it’s to die for. They make it all house made!”

“Wow, really?” Momo raised her eyebrows in intrigue, taking a quick glance at Rangiku. “Okay, then I think I’ll go ahead and get that. What are you getting?”

“I’m getting the shrimp tempura rice bowl!”

“That sounds really good…”

“Well, Momo,” Rangiku gazed at her with a sly smile. “I can share if you can share…”

Momo laughed and nodded. “Yes, of course!”

They ordered, both of them getting hot sake to chase the cold from their bodies.

Momo sighed, sitting back a bit. “This has been a great little getaway.”

“Yeah, it sure has.” Rangiku frowned, almost appearing disappointed. “I am so not ready for classes again tomorrow…”

Momo stuck out her tongue. “Bleh!”

Their food was brought out and they began eating in companionable silence. But Momo suddenly stopped, slowly lowering her chopsticks where they’d been halfway to her mouth. She was staring blankly at a point just past Rangiku’s shoulder. Rangiku observed, continuing to eat, as Momo unhurriedly picked up her water glass and took a drink.

It was only a couple of minutes later that Rangiku was able to see what Momo had been looking at.

Two men and a woman sat down at a table near them. They were all dressed very sharply in black and navy. Rangiku was frozen. She had some weapons on her, sure, but…

“Ran,” Momo said without looking up from her food. She put her chopsticks down again and took a sip, from her sake this time. She gave a pointed look to the strawberry blonde woman. “I think every color looks good on you.” She said seriously. “Both of us, actually. _We’re fine in anything._ ”

Rangiku let out a breath that she didn’t even know she was holding. _That’s right_ , she thought, _as long as we are outside of our territory, they might not have a clue that we are Seireitei unless they recognize our faces…_

They’d ceased any conversation, now intent on picking up any little bits of information that these people might let slip. Then when they finished eating, they left, still silent—grimly silent.

“I’ll call them.” Momo muttered.

“Who are you calling?”

“I’m calling Kurotsuchi. As much as I hate him…”

“He’s there now?”

“Yes.”

Momo speed dialed the captain and held the phone up to her ear.

“Oh, hello?” There was a pause, and Momo frowned. “I’m sorry for bothering you, but this is extremely urgent…” another pause, “Yes, I _will_ make it brief if you’d just—” She scowled, becoming angry. “Look, captain, sir, just stop talking for a moment and let me say what I have to say! The Quincy may be planning to bomb a police box somewhere in Yokosaka!” There was another pause as Momo visibly became even more irate. She let out an irritable little huff as she said harshly, “No, no! Not Yokohama, _Yokosaka!_ ” Then she sighed at something that Kurotsuchi said. “We heard Yokosaka…” A small pause, “It is not from a reliable source, no… We just heard some Quincy grunts discussing some things inside an udon shop…” the little brunette rubbed her forehead. “All right. Goodbye.”

Rangiku raised an eyebrow. “And what did Captain Creepy say?”

“He said that he’s not in Yokosaka anymore, he was only there briefly, but Kenpachi has taken up a post there, for some reason.” She shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know why, though… It isn’t so big that a captain would have to oversee it. Anyway, he is going to tell Nemu to call him, but also Uruhara, since he is in Yokohama. He said that although the grunts said Yokosaka, that’s a pretty small place, so chances are that’s not where they’re going. They may have been covering it up, or mistaking the name. In his words, Yokohama is much bigger, and as such, there are many more people within a small area, equaling more kills for them.” Momo shrugged.

Rangiku gaped at Momo. “He said that? I mean I’m not surprised I guess, but… He is so callous! But, well, anyway… I guess we can wash our hands of this…”

Momo smiled. “Let’s try to forget about it. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“Yeah.” Rangiku agreed. “We have to concentrate on getting back to the hotel and grabbing our things before the last train to Sapporo leaves!”

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

“Byakuya!”

Someone was calling him. It’s so… foggy, and far off sounding. But he has to go to it. He must.

“Kuchiki… Byakuya… _hurry_!”

“What? Where are you?”

Everything around him was a haze of white fog, but it smelled sweet. Like sakura. Delicate, pink petals drifted downward, swirling around him.

“I must… tell you my name…”

Byakuya’s eyes flew open to meet a dark ceiling. Slowly, as his eyes adjusted, the room became brighter, and the shadows gave way to solid objects and walls and a slow-moving ceiling fan. Byakuya sighed. His mind had immediately gone back to the compound where his supposed ancestors had once resided. He’d come for Renji, for some reason, and they stayed together in that big, haunted place. There was the little hill with the dried up shell of a sakura tree, and the empty valley where a stream should’ve run.

_“Why do you always smell like sakura?”_

Renji had asked him that, cuddled up close to him, before they fell asleep. It had been the evening they’d clumsily confessed to one another.

Byakuya harrumphed and turned onto his side. Why was he thinking of these stupid things? He closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

The main branch of the Kuchiki clan sat formally along a long table, hot green tea in front of each person. The tea was an obvious formality; it remained untouched by nearly everyone. A messenger of the Gotei 13 had come to the building that the main branch now called home: a comfortably large, Western style manor house that sat in a very wealthy neighborhood.  But this was one of the Japanese style rooms in the house, and the walls were a paper thin moss green. The messenger was kneeling next to the elderly Ginrei, and Sojun sat on the opposite side of his father.

“Greetings.” The messenger said, bowing so low his forehead nearly met with the table. “I am Yoshiwari Hotaru, from the 5th Division. I come on behalf of my division bearing news of Kuchiki Byakuya’s acceptance into the Gotei 13, and our division. Please read about it further in these documents.” Hotaru gave Ginrei a large envelope, presumably filled with the aforementioned documents. “Although he was given an unseated position, is a favored rookie, and as a Kuchiki, is expected to rise through the ranks quickly.”

Ginrei nodded. “Thank you for paying our clan such a compliment.”

“I only speak the truth, sir.” Hotaru bowed once more. “I will be taking my leave, if it pleases you.”

A servant saw the man out. Byakuya sat there very still, expecting somebody to say something to him. He felt not pride, nor accomplishment; he merely did what had been expected of him. Still, some part of him was almost hoping for even the slightest acknowledgement of his accomplishment.

Ginrei slowly opened the package and leisurely leafed through the enclosed documents. After only a moment, he placed them back inside the manila packaging and handed it to Byakuya.

“Look it over.”

Byakuya dipped his head forward into a shallow bow. “Yes, sofu.” He peeked up at Sojun, but quickly looked away before his father could notice.

“Byakuya?” Ginrei murmured, ever the observant one. “Is there something you would like to say?”

“Well… About my sword…”

“You have many good ones to choose from.” Sojun said sharply.

“Yes, I do, but—”

“We aren’t buying you any brand new ones.” His father flatly interrupted once more.

“No, no, I was not going to ask for that! I would simply like to find our family’s sword from when we belonged to Seireitei…”

Ginrei’s mouth fell open. “You don’t mean… _That_ one…”

Byakuya nodded. “The one that our ancestor Byakuya wielded, yes.”

One second later Byakuya’s face was turned to the side, his cheek suddenly stinging like fire—he realized belatedly that Sojun was now leaning over the table with an outstretched hand, and had in fact, slapped him.

“Foolish, _foolish_ boy!” He whispered. Sojun’s breath quivered with pent up rage, and fists trembled at his sides. He was _livid_. “Get out of this house.”

“What—”

“ _Get! Out!_ ” Sojun bellowed, rising to his feet. He stabbed a finger at the front door. “Get out until I invite you back in!”

_That could be days…_ Byakuya thought with a forlorn acceptance of his situation. Taking to his feet as well, Byakuya kept his eyes low. He knew how to handle his father when he was like this.

“I will just need to get some things from my room before I leave. I shall be gone in just a moment.” He muttered quietly as he passed his father.

With that, he climbed the tall, marble staircase to his room to pack his bags—the bags that always sat in the same spot, ready to go when things like this happened.

Byakuya glared sharply at the large duffle bags. He wanted to scream. He hated these bags. Yet, just like all the other times, he would maintain his composure and dignity, and leave with his head held high. The heir to the Kuchiki clan couldn’t let this sort of thing get to him. It would be quite dishonorable.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

“But wait a second, that doesn’t make sense!”

Ulquiorra sighed heavily. “That’s because you are doing it wrong… You are using the incorrect theorem.”

“But none of the examples for this theorem even make sense! In fact, none of these examples are even remotely like the actual problems! I call bullshit.”

“You need to be more patient with yourself.”

Grimmjow growled in frustration, but quieted immediately when there came a knocking at the door.

“Young master Cifer, someone to see you,”

“Ya know, I still can’t get used to the way they do that…” Grimmjow muttered under his breath.

“Shh.”

“Hello.” A young man walked into the room with a bow. “You are Ulquiorra Cifer?”

“I am.” Ulquiorra stood.

That left the still sitting Grimmjow feeling slightly awkward, but he remained on the floor both out of laziness and as a pointless act of defiance towards whatever particular type of manners that Ulquiorra was displaying here. Grimmjow knew it was stupid but even he wouldn’t have been able to explain it.

The young man nodded at Grimmjow, however, and the acknowledgment surprised him. Then he turned to Ulquiorra. “I am from Seireitei and I have your membership information. To be short, you will begin as an unseated officer in the 6th division. Your information is in this package here. It contains everything you need to know. I trust you have some sort of katana, or blade?”

Ulquiorra merely nodded, somehow managing to peer down his nose at the man who was nearly level to him, giving the very slightest of sneers.

“Good, good!” The young man nodded in approval. “Well then, that will be all.” He stood, as did Ulquiorra. “Thank you, and welcome to the family.” He clasped Ulquiorra’s hand, shaking it firmly.

“I’ll have a servant see you out.” The raven muttered, his green eyes already making their way back to Grimmjow’s, even as he fluidly began walking out of the room.

“Thank you.” That was that, and Grimmjow was now temporarily left alone.

_So he’s in, huh?_ The bluenette thought briefly about texting Renji, then thought better of it when he remember the redhead’s circumstances with Byakuya… _Maybe I’ll talk to him later…_ So instead he began texting Ikaku, not that that guy knew anything about any of this… He was just killing time.

“I’m back,” Ulquiorra called. He soon entered the room followed by a servant carrying a tray of tea.

Grimmjow jumped up and bounded over to him. “Congratulations!” He crowed, heartily thumping Ulquiorra on the back.

But the raven merely shrugged. “It was simply to be expected.” He muttered, sitting back down.

“So talk to me. Ya thought of any cool tattoos yet?”

Ulquiorra gave Grimmjow a blank look. “What?”

_Ugh. I bet we just got saddled with a kid that’s got skill and book smarts... Nothin’ else! He doesn’t know nothin’, does he?_

* * *

 

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

“Ichigo, it’s not funny!” Renji protested weakly.

“Oh my God, Ren, this is hilarious!” Ichigo choked out amongst hearty laughter. “I cannot  _believe_ Byakuya actually thinks that you and Rukia are two-timing… You guys are two-timing both me and him!” He paused a moment to gasp, attempting to at least slightly collect himself from the new chuck of gossip just presented to him. “Oh man, this is great…”

“I can’t believe that Byakuya would actually think that of you.” Shuuhei muttered as he returned from Rukia’s kitchen with another bag of chips.

“Dude, we’re not even—I mean,” Renji struggled, words failing him for a moment under the sudden attention he was being showered with. It wasn’t attention that bothered him, but this was just such a bizarre conversation for him to be having with a group of people. “Uh, well,” he sighed trying to ignore that fact that everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to say something. “Oh man.” He rubbed his forehead. “Okay, well, I’m pretty sure I sorta broke it off with him, actually, since he’s kind of an arrogant dick …” Renji finally said, scratching behind his ear. His eyes floated up to the ceiling. _This relationship crap is so confusing. So_ dramatic. _What the hell._

Rukia chuckled beside him. “You just noticed he’s a dick? Oh have you got a lot to learn!” Her face became serious for a moment, though. She pulled her knees into her chest, pressing herself further into the couch. “But he can be kind, too. He has a lot of… conflicting thoughts and emotions, and his home life isn’t very easy so he’s a little… Well, he just has a lot to deal with, and to think about. None of us have it easy, really, but he’s in the main branch of our clan, and has to deal with everyone telling him what kind of person he needs to be and how he needs to think, and… I just—Renji, I just really think you should give him another chance.”

Ichigo, on Rukia’s opposite side, offered a noncommittal shrug. “I don’t know the guy, Renji, so I’m not about to give you any advice, but at the very least you should get along with him. In the long run it’s a hell of a lot less hassle working with a friend—or at least an acquaintance—than with an enemy.”

Shuuhei patted Renji on the shoulder. “He’s right. At least get along. For the sake of the family, since, well, he’s a part of it now. But ya know,” The brunet sighed here, as if reluctant. “If he makes you happy, I agree with Rukia as well. Give him a second chance. I gotta say, I don’t like Byakuya and I think he’s an asshole. But, I don’t envy him either. Things must kind of suck for him sometimes.” He shook his head, almost appearing to feel bad for Byakuya. He may well have. “I mean… I do think you should get to know him a bit better though. He’s a pretty enigmatic guy.”

“Renji looked at Shuuhei in surprise. “Shu… I thought—”

Shuuhei held up a hand. “Please, spare me. First and foremost, I am your friend, and that’s not gonna change, ever. Got it, ya fuckin’ red pineapple? Bros before hoes, dude!”

Renji tried to glare at his friend, but failed miserably and ended up grinning widely. “Thanks, man.” He sighed, becoming more serious all of a sudden. “Ya know, I’ve been texting Grimmjow.”

Ichigo nodded absently, going in for a handful of chips. “Mhmm?”

“We’re both pretty much worried about the same thing…” The redhead’s voice became quieter as he spoke. “We’re both worried about the ridicule we’ll receive, because we ended up getting defeated by a couple guys that—well, at the time—weren’t even in any yakuza.”

“But that doesn’t make sense!” Ichigo protested.

“They both come from families with rich histories involving kenjutsu and the yakuza.” Shuuhei reasoned calmly.

“Yeah but for a lot of people, that’s not enough.” Renji retorted. “Both of us have shamed our respective clans, not to mention Seireitei. Now we have to find some way to redeem ourselves…”

“Renji…” Rukia said softly. She was looking at him with a worried gaze, and it annoyed the redhead that he was the cause of that expression. She gasped softly, and Renji could almost see an idea plant itself in her mind as the expressions on her face changed. “You know what you need?” She asked him, her voice suddenly solid and confident.

“Um. No?” He had a bad feeling. _But I’ll humor her. What’s the worst that could happen?_

“You need to feel a little bit better!” _Well no shit, Sherlock!_ He watched her small form quickly skitter out of the room, leaving the three slightly bemused men to stare after her.

“Huh.” Shuuhei said.

As quickly as she left, Rukia came running back in with a hair brush and some hair ties. “Okay Renji!” She said, probably trying to sound authoritative. “Scoot over.”

“Oh God, you’re doing it again aren’t you!” Renji moaned in despair.

Ichigo snickered, covering his face with his hands, and Shuuhei started choking a little bit on his chips as he tried desperately not to spew them onto the innocent furniture in a fit of laughter.

“Just let her do it,” Ichigo grinned, deviously.

“You’re enjoying this!” Renji shot out accusingly. “You’re getting off on this or something!”

“Yep. That is exactly the thing that is happening right now.”

Rukia took out Renji’s hair tie and ran her fingers through his thick, red locks. She began to gently untangle it in this way, letting her fingers dance across his scalp—now lightly, now more firmly. It was rather calming, and it felt nice. But he would never admit that.

Then Rukia took the brush to him. He sighed. The bristled felt nice against his scalp, too. They always felt nice against his scalp, but it felt different when someone else was brushing his hair. Again, he would never admit that.

He really did love attention, after all…

Rukia put the brush down in her lap and began braiding, her fingers easily dipping in and out and in between strands of hair—but the trance was broken very suddenly when the front door clattered open and a red-faced Byakuya stumbled into the entrance with a bag in each hand.

Everyone fell silent, simply staring at the young man who’d somehow gotten a bruise on his handsome, pale face.

Rukia stood slowly and took a cautious step towards him, as though he were a skittish animal. “Aniki…”

Byakuya’s eyes darted quickly around the room, the only thing giving him away in his mask of stoicism. Renji knew that look from multiple occasions. Byakuya really was to be likened to an animal in this moment, an injured one at that. He was panicking, trying to escape, find a way out somewhere—anywhere where he could be alone, and feel safe.

Rukia, apparently shocked by the appearance of her cousin for a moment, regained her faculties rather quickly. “Come on, Aniki, let’s go upstairs.” She took Byakuya by the arm and led him through the living room to the stairs. Turning back and smiling at the rest of the room, she said, “I’ll be back down in a moment!”

For a long time, then, it was silent. No one knew quite what to say. Everyone was shocked, really. Why did the haughty and proud Byakuya appear so… small, suddenly? What had happened to him? Did he somehow, by some chance, not make the cut? Was he punished for this? Or was there another reason…?

Shuuhei sighed. “So.” He muttered quietly, as though hesitant to disturb the heavy silence that enveloped them.

Ichigo turned to Renji. “Are you… okay?” he asked, also in a hushed tone. His question was voiced just a bit awkwardly, as Ichigo was never really one to have a heart to heart. “That was kind of…”

Renji just shrugged. “Well, I mean, I think that was a surprise to all of us.”

“You wanna go out for a while somewhere? Talk?” Shuuhei asked with concern in his voice.

“Man, you guys!” Renji groaned loudly, his voice suddenly back to normal. He roughly pulled his finger through the braid in his hair and put it back into his customary pony tail. “I don’t really know if I should be happy that you care about me, or if I should be pissed that you’re treating me like such a delicate fucking flower. I’ll go with pissed. I mean, what am I, a girl? Give me a break!”

Ichigo smirked.

“But I wonder what happened, that he’d come here like that…” Shuuhei pondered as he got to his feet. “You guys want some beer?” He asked over his shoulder.

“Yeah, thanks.” Ichigo said.

Nobody noticed when Rukia softly entered the room. She nested in Ichigo’s lap, her face carefully blank.

“So,” Renji said at length. “What’s the verdict?”

Rukia took in a deep breath. “Today, when he was officially welcomed in to the yakuza, he asked if he could go and find the sword of his ancestors… The one that belonged to the Kuchiki Byakuya of old. Well, his father hit him and sent him packing. Byakuya doesn’t know when he’ll be allowed back.” She sighed. “His father used to do this a lot more often, and when it happened Byakuya would always come here.”

“Is his father… abusive?” Renji asked hesitantly.

“Abusive?” Rukia cocked her head to the side, seeming to ponder that for a moment. “Perhaps… He was always very strict… Maybe sometimes he crosses the line… But I’m not really sure myself.”

Renji was floored. He’d had no idea that this is what Byakuya had had to put up with.

He wanted to go talk to him…

But he also understood that Byakuya really needed his space right now.

“It’s alright though, all of you may remain here.” Rukia announced brightly. “After all, we still have that movie to watch!”

“What movie?” Ichigo asked.

“Uzumaki!”

“Ugh.” Renji groaned. “Don’t start it yet. I have to go purge my body of everything I’ve eaten recently.”

“Right there with ya, buddy.” Ichigo muttered, his face a bit paler than it had been but a moment ago.

Shuuhei smirked. “Good thing Kira couldn’t come tonight, huh? He hates horror movies!”

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

His ears were ringing. He’d been notified too late, much too late about the bomb threat. He’d arrived too late to shut it down.

Uruhara lay buried beneath a pile of rubble in what used to be a police station in Yokohama. He was well aware nobody from the family would come for him.

Slowly, he moved his head from side to side. He could feel his fingers and his toes, so he counted that as a god sign. By some miracle he wasn’t pinned beneath anything. Uruhara crawled into a kneeling position and shakily climbed over a burning hot steel bar, probably part of the frame. He tried to stand but lost his footing in the shifty rubble, and slid down a pile of debris. He had more trouble staggering to his feet the second time; it was obvious that a few of his ribs were broken, and the pain was blinding. Uruhara’s mind didn’t even register the pain of the shrapnel in his side. He was extremely thankful for that, but wasn’t sure how long that would last.

He could see the sky now, and that made him feel a little bit better. He drew himself up to the side of the building next door. That had received a good amount of damage as well, but it still stood. Gingerly leaning back against the charred concrete, he reached inside his pockets to check what was still intact. His phone was completely busted. But he still had his wallet and everything in it.

Uruhara sighed, gazing up at the sky again. The smoke had cleared up quite a bit by then. He could hear the police coming and sighed in annoyance. That was his cue to get out of there. He started limping off, keeping to the shadows to avoid suspicion. It was a shame this had to be in broad daylight.

_Oh God damn it._ One of his ribs was sticking out. He should probably do something about that.

Well, he’d check into a hotel somewhere close. A cheap one, where no one would ask questions. He hoped. He’d be able to make all the calls he needed to from there. They would have to be coded since of course, you can’t trust public phones… _Oh man. These things are always such a hassle._

* * *

 

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

Renji slowly peeked overtop the pillow he cuddled to his chest. “Is it over?” He whispered.

Shuuhei’s desperately clutched Ichigo’s arm. “I don’t know! I think I shut my eyes!”

Ichigo, wide eyed by contrast, said nothing, as he sat utterly stiff between the two. But Rukia’s even breathing told everyone that she was _still_ sleeping soundly, curled up in her boyfriend’s lap. The low humming sound coming from the TV gently reverberated off the walls, generating soft and constant white noise.

A quiet thump came from upstairs, right overhead. Renji jumped, only barely repressing a scream of unadulterated terror.

“What…?” Rukia mumbled, rubbing her eyes. “What’s going on, guys?”

Ichigo sighed. “Rukia…” He muttered, gently ruffling her hair.

Renji grabbed her shoulders. “What _are_ you?! You _always_ fall asleep during horror movies! _What! Are! You!”_

Rukia giggle sleepily, shrugging. She sat up a bit straighter and stretched, leveling her gaze at Renji. “You should go up there and talk to him. By now, he may be a bit more receptive.”

The redhead looked at her incredulously. “You’re telling me, the one who kind-of-semi-broke it off with him, to go make up with him?”

“Renji, I know why you broke up with him… But you have to understand he has issues with just putting all of his emotions out there in the open. Since he was young, he’s been training to become an extremely polite, proper killing machine. He really needs someone like you to… allow him to express himself… He needs someone to let him feel like it’s okay to be sensitive sometimes.” She pushed him off of the couch. “Go on! Go!”

“But I don’t know what to say!” But he was already heading up the stairs…

Very suddenly he ran into Byakuya. He’d just come out of the bathroom and had nothing but a towel around his waist.

“Uh…”Byakuya looked like a deer caught in headlights. Renji had never caught such an expression on the raven before.

“Um… I was just—” Renji didn’t get a chance to finish because Byakuya darted quickly into the guest room.

Renji sighed. _Now what?_

“Uh…” Renji knocked softly on the door. “Can we uh, talk?”

There was no answer.

“Byakuya? I really just want to talk—”

“Well I don’t.” Came the harsh reply.

“Aw, come on… Please?”

“Why?”

“Well… for starters, I’m worried about you since, ya know, it looks like you got hit, ‘n you came in here pretty upset…”

There was a bit of shuffling around in the room before the door cracked open. Two obsidian eyes gazed coldly at Renji.

“I’m fine.” He said flatly.

“You’re not… Look, Rukia told us what happened; I hope that’s okay…”

Byakuya’s eyes flashed in the darkness, but his expression didn’t change. Renji hated this Byakuya. The Byakuya he knew was more—well, at least a _bit_ more expressive…

“Look,” Renji tried again. “I know where the sword is. Let me in so we can talk… Maybe I can take you to it.”

Byakuya arched an eyebrow, obviously skeptical, but he opened the door. The thought briefly passed through Renji’s mind that this man was a born killer. But so was Renji, so didn’t it even out? _No…_ because Byakuya was much more powerful. That was why there was the intimidation. There was a certain heightened awareness now—his self-preservation instinct was alerting him to some imminent danger.

How ridiculous… He couldn’t relax now that he knew what this man was capable of.

Despite his instinctual misgivings, Renji came in and sat on the bed, patting the spot next to him. Byakuya didn’t move. The redhead sighed, determined yet to show Byakuya exactly where his heart was at the moment.

They were going to talk about _feelings._ The thought didn’t sit well with Renji, but it had to be done.

“Umm… I, kind of freaked out, okay? When I saw how strong you actually were. It was… very intimidating, and I somehow didn’t expect you to put off such a cold killing intent… I guess I felt somehow betrayed? I mean I just had no idea. I didn’t know how to deal with that kind of defeat—by you of all people. And then you had to go and act all arrogant like I haven’t been working my ass off already to get all the skills that I possess… Now my old man is like, shamed and stuff ‘cuz I apparently just suck at everything and that’s kind of where I’m at emotionally right now… But it bugs me that you haven’t been with me lately. I just… kind of… ya know, wanna make things better and stuff…” Renji was muttering now. He figured he should stop while he was ahead, if in fact he was ahead…

Byakuya slowly walked over and sat down on the bed.

“I had no idea how much pressure you were under at the time.” Renji murmured. “I mean, I guess somewhere I knew, but I wasn’t even really thinking about you. I just didn’t know your situation was that bad…”

Byakuya shrugged. “It isn’t always so bad.” He said quietly. “It is… easy to forget sometimes, but my family does care for me. Although, they don’t always show this in the… best of ways,” He gingerly touched his cheek.

Renji nodded. He could relate.

“Were you holding back when you fought me?” Byakuya asked suddenly.

“Um,” Renji was slightly taken aback by the unexpected question. “I… may have been inadvertently holding back…”

“Inadvertently?” Byakuya cocked his head to the side, his expression one of puzzlement for a moment, then one of understanding. He nodded, folding his hands in his lap. “Well then. We shall have to have a rematch. Privately, with no prying eye, in my dojo.”

Renji smiled. “Alright.” He risked a look at Byakuya. He was now leaning back on his hands, staring into the dark nothingness of the room. “Hey…” Renji tugged on the hem of Byakuya’s shirt.

The raven’s eyes met Renji’s own, and Renji’s breath caught in his throat. “Uh—Can we… try this whole… dating thing again?”

Byakuya looked away. “A dangerous number of people know about us…”

Renji reached over and found Byakuya’s hand. “It’ll be okay. They’re our friends. We can trust them.”

Byakuya nodded slowly, looking over at the redhead with a piercing gaze as though silently telling him he’d hold him to his word.

Byakuya was a terrifying man.

Renji turned his body so that he was completely facing him, and he interlocked his fingers with Byakuya’s. His other hand gently turned Byakuya’s face towards his own.

“I want to get to know you better. Every side of you.”

Almost imperceptibly, the raven’s visage softened. Renji leaned in and brushed his lips against Byakuya’s in a feather light touch. He remained just a breath away from Byakuya, and his tan fingers combed through damp black hair. A light pink blush dusted Byakuya’s cheeks, and Renji gently kissed one of them.

Yes. Renji much preferred when Byakuya was honest with his emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay so I can't believe it took me this long to get this out... Yeah I mean I went through some stuff since I posted the last chapter, but this has been like, sitting on my computer for a couple months... So not good! D: So now I can get on to updating the next chapters of my other 2 fanfics and start outlining chapter #whatever for When Souls Collide :) Yay! Getting stuff done! Please just be patient, though, since I mean, I'm actively working on things again however I'm going to school and work (yes, I'm taking a few college classes during the summer) so I'm very busy! And I try to get out of the house sometimes, as well... Which is hard...
> 
> Ugh. I'm rambling. But it's almost 1 am, I have a test tomorrow in my 8 am class, I still have to unload and reload the dishwasher and I have to see if there is any homework that I was supposed to do for my psychology class... Bleh school sucks.
> 
> I kind of rushed through my usual editing process. Personally I'm not very happy with this chapter, so I do apologize if it's not what you've expected.

**Author's Note:**

> I was gonna make this chapter longer, but then it got too long, and I just had to stop somewhere. So I chose this spot. Incidentally this means that I'm well along the way in the 2nd chapter XD But, I hope you enjoy this, and I'm sorry it came out so long after the original oneshot.
> 
> Please leave reviews! I love reviews!
> 
> So. This chapter has been edited again. :D (16 April, 2013) I hope it's better/you like it/there aren't too many problems. lol I'll be going on and editing the other chapters, and I'll actually be posting a 3rd chapter soon since I've finished writing it. *sigh* A lot's been going on lately so it's been a while.


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